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UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


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DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

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This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamp 
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J»U4-«-4885 


Form  No.  A -369 


The  John  Lawson  Monographs 

OF  THE 

Trinity  College  Hi^orical  Society 

DURHAM,  NORTH  CAROLINA 


VOL.  11 


MEMOIRS  OF 

W.  W.  HOLDEN 


Durham,  N.  C. 

Tt"    Seeman  Printer y 

1911 


CONTENTS 


ilBRAKY    UNrV  '   OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 


Introduction v 

CHAPTER    I. 

THE  DEMOCRATIC   PARTY  IN   NORTH 
CAROLINA  TO  1861 

David  S.  Reid  and  Free  Suffrage  —  Contest  with  Gov- 
ernor Bragg  —  The  Charleston  Convention  of  1860 
—The  Election  of  February,  1861  — The  Seces- 
sion Convention 1 

CHAPTER    II. 

WAR  POLITICS 

The  Nomination  of  Vance  —  Confederate  and  State 
Politics  —  The  Laurel  Valley  Affair  —  Editorials 
of  April,  1865  —  Edwin  G.  Reade  to  the  Confed- 
erate Senate  in  1864 18 

CHAPTER    III. 

PROVISIONAL   GOVERNMENT   AND  RECON- 
STRUCTION   INCIDENTS 

Scenes  at  Washington,  May,  1865  —  Provisional  Gov- 
ernor —  Pardons  —  The  Legislature  of  1865  — 
Criticisms  of  Moore's  School  History  of  North 
Carolina  on  War  Politics  and  Reconstruction. ...     44 

CHAPTER   IV. 

GOVERNOR  UNDER  THE   RECONSTRUCTION   ACTS 

Reminiscences  of  Early  Life  —  Protest  of  Governor 
Worth  —  Proclamations  Regarding  the  Ku  Klux — 
The  Shoffner  Act  —  Correspondence  with  Captain 
Pride  Jones  —  Examples  of  Executive  Clemency. .     94 

CHAPTER  V. 

IMPEACHMENT 

Chief  Justice  Pearson  —  Letter  of  Governor  Brogden 
— Attitude  Toward  the  Removal  of  Disabilities  — 
Last  Letter  to  the  Public 147 

Appendix 187 


V^n>- 


u 


Introduction 

The  Memoirs  of  W,  W,  Holden,  which  form  the 
present  volume  of  the  John  Lawson  Monographs, 
were  written  between  E'ovember,  1889,  and  March, 
1890.  /Governor  Holden  was  then  seventy-one  years 
of  ageV  in  1882  he  had  suffered  an  attack  of  par- 
alysis ;  and  his  health  was  so  feeble  that  he  was  com- 
pelled to  dictate  the  Memoirs,  his  amanuensis  being 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  >C.  A.  Sherwood,  of  Rakigit.  The 
morning  after  the  manuscript  was  finished  he  was 
again  stricken  with  paralysis,  which  completely  shat- 
tered his  faculties.  His  death  occurred  in  March, 
1892. 

It  was  Governor  Holden' s  desire  that  some  one 
should  revise  his  manuscript  and  see  it  through  the 
press.  For  this  work  he  turned  to  Theo.  H.  Hill 
and  John  B.  ISTeathery,  but  neither  would  undertake 
the  responsibility.  He  also  solicited  the  aid  of  Gov. 
C.  H.  Brogden  in  composing  the  manuscript;  the 
only  result  was  the  letter,  Brogden  to  Holden,  given 
on  page  169. 

The  conditions  under  which  the  Memoirs  were 
written  explain  several  characteristics  of  the  work. 
Governor  Holden's  power  of  organizing  material 
had  evidently  been  shattered  by  age  and  illness,  for 
frequently  questions  relating  to  the  Civil  War  and 
Reconstruction  are  discussed  out  of  chronological 
order,  related  topics  are  often  widely  separated  from 
each  other,  and  the  narrative  of  certain  events  is 
repeated.     His  memory,  also,  failed  him,  for  there 


vi  Introduction 

are  some  mistakes  in  detail  and  facts  of  much  sig- 
nificance are  omitted.  Doubtless  it  was  in  full  real- 
ization of  these  conditions  that  he  writes,  on  page  25  : 
*'And  further  I  will  say  I  am  not  writing  a  history. 
While  my  mind  is  full  of  the  events  of  the  past,  and 
men  and  things  of  which  I  am  writing  swarm  before 
my  vision,  I  have  not  the  physical  strength  to  catch 
and  fix  them  all  on  paper,  or  to  refer  to  documents 
and  handle  them,  and  deduce  therefrom  the  actions 
and  the  characters  of  the  men  concerned.  These  are 
simply  stray  bits  of  history.  I  am  innocent  of  any 
purpose  to  do  injustice  to  anyone." 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  certain  strong,  pos- 
itive features  of  the  Memoirs.  One  of  these  is  a 
remarkable  absence  of  any  vindictive  feeling.  The 
y/  narrative  of  events  which  might  recall  the  conflicts 
and  bitterness  of  the  past  is,  as  far  as  possible, 
omitted.  This  is  notably  true  of  the  contest  with 
Judge  Ellis  for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  in 
1858  and  of  the  bond  issue  in  reconstruction  days. 
The  discussion  of  bonds  was  omitted,  I  am  sure, 
because  of  personal  attachment  to  some  who  were 
concerned  in  the  bond  legislation ;  in  fact,  Governor 
Holden  once  wrote  a  newspaper  sketch  of  the  influ- 
ences which  shaped  the  issue  of  the  bonds  of  1869, 
but  refrained  from  publishing  it  on  account  of  friend- 
ship for  one  deeply  involved  in  the  measure. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  Memoirs  is  that  when 
his  own  policies  are  under  consideration,  the  author 
assumes  full  responsibility  and  never  shifts  the  bur- 
den to  others.  A  striking  example  of  this  is  the  view 
of  the  military  movement  of   1870,  known  as  the 


Introduction  vii 

^'  Kirk-Holden  War."  ISTot  a  word  is  given  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  the  Gov- 
ernor by  leading  members  of  his  party  to  take  mili- 
tary measures.  Yet,  when  measures  which  did  not 
involve  his  o^vn  responsibility  or  the  integrity  of  oth- 
ers are  under  discussion,  Governor  Holden  often 
displays  an  insight  into  conditions  and  a  power  of 
presentation  that  are  far  above  the  average.  Such 
are  the  descriptions  of  the  Free  Suffrage  Movement, 
the  Charleston  Convention  of  1860,  and  the  realign- 
ment of  parties  in  E'orth  Carolina  after  secession  was 
accomplished. 

Finally,  the  Memoirs  reflect  many  of  the  convic- 
tions of  age  and  experience,  the  backward  view  of 
one  who  had  lived  and  fought  through  some  of  the 
memorable  political  campaigns  and  movements  in 
the  history  of  ^N'orth  Carolina. 

In  full  cognizance  of  these  limitations,  the  Mem- 
oirs are  given  to  the  public  as  an  interesting  and  val- 
uable contribution  to  the  history  of  North  Carolina. 
Editorial  emendations  have  been  withheld  as  far  as 
possible,  with  the  aim  of  letting  Governor  Holden 
speak  without  restriction.  However,  to  offset  his 
assumption  of  full  responsibility  for  the  military 
movement  of  1870,  a  letter  of  Edward  Conigland 
has  been  inserted  as  a  foot-note  to  page  176  and  in 
an  Appendix  has  been  added  the  testimony  of  R.  C. 
Badger  before  the  Senate  Committee  of  1871,  which 
investigated  the  relation  of  Senator  John  Pool  to 
the  Kirk-Holden  War.  Both  Conigland  and  Badger 
were  counsel  for  the  defense  in  the  Impeachment  and 
speak  from  knowledge  and  conviction.     For  these 


viii  Introduction 

additions  to  the  original  manuscript  of  Governor 
Holden,  editorial  judgment  is  alone  responsible. 
Some  details  of  Governor  Holden's  career  not  in- 
cluded in  the  Memoirs  are  given  in  sketches  entitled 
"  William  W.  Holden ''  in  the  Historical  Papers  of 
the  Trinity  College  Historical  Society,  Series  III. 

Aug.  1,  1911. 

WM.  K.  BOYD. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  H olden 


CHAPTEE  I. 

THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY  IN  NORTH 
CAROLINA  TO  1861 

DAVID   S.    REID  A^T>   FREE    SUFFRAGE CONTEST   WITH 

GOVERNOR     BRAGG THE     CHARLESTON     CONVEN- 
TION    OF     1860  THE    ELECTION    OF    FEBRUARY^ 

1861  THE  SECESSION  CONVENTION. 

On  the  first  day  of  June  1843,  I  became  the  owner 
and  Editor  of  the  ^'orth  Carolina  Standard,  a  well 
known  DenjLOcr^tic  journal.  The  Democratic  party 
of  the  State  Avas  at  that  time  in  the  minority  and  was 
depressed.  The  Whig  party  had  controlled  the  State 
from  1836,  the  end  of  Governor  Spaight's  adminis- 
tration, until  1850,  the  end  of  Gov.  Manly's  admin- 
istration. 

The  following  statement  of  the  vote  for  Governor 
will  show  how  the  State  stood,  up  to  the  election  of 
Governor  Reid  in  1850. 

1840. 

John  M.  Morehead,  Whig 44,484 

Romulus  M.  Saunders,  Dem 35,903 

Morehead's  majority 8,581 

1842. 

John  M.  Morehead,  Whig 37,943 

Louis  D.  Henry,  Dem 34,411 

Morehead's  majority 3,532 


2  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdeis- 

1844. 

William  A.  Graham,  Whig 42,586 

Michael  Hoke,  Dem 39,433 

Graham's    majority 3,153 

1846. 

William  A.  Graham,  Whig 43,486 

James  B.  Shepard,  Dem 35,627 

Graham's    majority 7,759 

1848 

Charles  Manly,  Whig 42,536 

David  S.  Reid,  Dem 41,682 

Manly's   majority 854 

1850. 

David  S.  Reid,  Dem 45,080 

Charles  Manly,  Whig 42,227 

Reid's    majority 2,853 

1852. 

David  S.  R^d,  Dem 48,567 

John  Kerr,  Whig 43,003 

Reid's  majority 5,564 

Governor  Reid  was  therefore  defeated  iu  1848,  and 
elected  in  1850  and  1852.  This  made  the  State  Dem- 
ocratic. In  1854  Thomas  Bragg  defeated  Alfred 
Dockery  by  2,085 ;  in  1856  he  defeated  John  A.  Gil- 
mer by  12,628;  and  in  1858  John  W.  Ellis  defeated 
D.  K.  McRae  (a  Democrat  but  generally  voted  for  bj 
the  Whigs)  by  16,383. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


I  have  given  these  figures  to  show  that  the  State 
was  Whig  under  the  new  Constitution  as  amended  in 
1835,  up  to  Keid's  election  in  1850.  In  1836  Edward 
B.  Dudley,  Whig,  defeated  Eichard  Dobbs  Spaight, 
Democrat,  by  about  six  thousand  majority,  and  in 
1838  he  defeated  Ex-Governor  John  Branch,  who 
was  brought  forward  by  Willis  Whitaker  and 
others  of  Wake  County,  by  about  fourteen  thousand 
majority. 

The  State  Convention  that  nominated  David  S. 
Reid  for  Governor  w^as  held  in  1848  after  the  nom- 
ination of  Manly  for  the  same  office.  I  had  the  honor 
to  prepare  the  platform  which  was  adopted  by  that 
body.  Robert  P.  Dick  of  Guilford,  James  B.  Shep- 
ard  of  Wake,  William  K.  Lane  of  Wayne,  and  myself 
were  the  members  of  the  committee  who  urged  the 
nomination  of  Colonel  Reid  on  the  Convention.  He 
was  nominated  unanimously,  almost  as  a  '^  forlorn 
hope''.  Mr.  Manly,  his  opponent,  was  a  brilliant  and 
able  speaker,  and  the  chances  against  Reid  appeared 
to  be  as  five  to  one.  A  committee  was  appointed  to 
notify  him  of  his  nomination  and  request  his  ac- 
ceptance. He  replied  declining  the  nomination^  and 
I  had  the  letter  in  type,  and  was  about  to  go  to  press. 
But  I  looked  at  the  correspondence  as  it  stood  in  the 
form  in  type,  and  thought  of  the  hopeless  condition 
of  the  Democratic  party  if  the  correspondence  with 
the  letter  from  Colonel  Reid  should  be  published  in 
the  organ  of  the  party,  and  I  determined  to  withhold 
the  publication  at  least  for  one  issue  of  the  paper. 
I  at  once  consulted  with  friends  as  to  the  course  to 
be  adopted,  and  the  result  was  that  Jerry  Nixon  and 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


James  B.  Shepard,  Esquires,  and  Dr.  W.  R.  Scott 
and  myself  sent  a  messenger  on  horseback,  who  rode 
day  and  night  to  Reidsville  with  a  letter  to  Colonel 
Reid,  urging  him  in  most  earnest  terms  to  accept  the 
nomination  and  come  to  Raleigh  at  once,  prepared 
to  enter  on  the  campaign  with  Manly.  I  wrote  the 
letter  and  it  was  signed  by  the  persons  named.  The 
messenger  went  and  returned  in  the  shortest  possible 
time,  and  the  day  after  he  returned  Colonel  Reid- 
H^appeared  at  Raleigh,  accepted  the  nomination  (stop- 
l/tj/  ping  at  Guion's  Hotel)  and  made  ready  for  the  cam- 
paign. (Therefore,  but  for  what  I  did.  Colonel  Reid 
vwould  not  have  accepted.  Free  Suffrage  would  not 
•'^  have  been  broached  to  the  people  of  the  State,  which 
was  the  prime,  great,  and  moving  cause  of  the  first 
Democratic  victory  in  the  State  since  1836,  and  of  all 
subsequent  victories.  And  not  only  this,  but  Free 
Suffrage  was  the  source  of  benefit  to  the  State,  in 
that  it  greatly  liberalized  the  views  of  public  men  on 
legislation.  The  discussion  of  the  subject  in  1848  no 
doubt  led  to  the  assumption  of  a  debt  of  more  than 
two  millions  for  internal  improvements.  The  Senate 
was  based  on  taxation,  and  was  therefore  not  disposed 
to  incur  State  debts. 

Colonel  Reid  was  waited  upon  by  a  number  of  hib 
friends  at  the  Guion  Hotel,  and  full  and  free  conver- 
sations were  held  in  regard  to  the  campaign.  ^Ir. 
Manly  had  already  given  notice  of  his  purpose  to 
speak  at  Beaufort,  Carteret  County,  in  the  course  of 
four  or  five  days,  and  it  was  desired  that  Colonel 
Reid  should  meet  and  reply  to  him  at  that  place. 
The  platforin  on  which  Colonel  Reid  was  nominated 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holder 


contained  no  allusion  to  Free  Suffrage/ and  he  said, 
'^  Gentlemen,  this  nomination  was  not  sought  by  me, 
and  it  has  been  my  purpose  for  a  long  time  if  I  should 
be  a  candidate  for  a  State  office  before  the  people,  to 
broach  one  issue,  which  I  deem  very  important. 
What  I  mean  is  that  the  State  Constitution  shall  be 
so  amended  by  the  mode  prescribed  by  the  instrument 
itself,  that  all  voters  for  the  House  of  Commons  shall 
be  allowed  to  vote  for  Senators.  What  do  you  say  to 
my  taking  this  ground  in  the  canvass  ?  I  mean,  of 
course,  no  disrespect  to  the  convention  that  nominated 
me,  but  I  wish  to  discuss  this  question  before  the  peo- 
ple. I  Avant  your  opinion.  I  will  consult  our  friend 
Dr.  S.  A.  Andrews  at  Goldsborough,  and  friend  Sam- 
uel R.  Street  at  ^ewberne,  and  friends  at  Beaufort, 
and  then  decide  finally  what  I  will  do."' 

The  friends  present  were  Dr.  Josiah  Watson, 
James  B.  Shepard,  Perrin  Busbee,  Jerry  E'ixon, 
W.  T.  Eogers,  Mark  Williams,  and  myself.  Dr.  Wat- 
son and  Messrs.  Shepard  and  Busbee  were  inclined 
to  decide  against  it,  and  Messrs.  !Nixon,  Rogers,  Wil- 
liams and  myself  were  in  favor  of  broaching  the 
issue.  Colonel  Reid  was  traveling  in  his  buggy.  He 
had  recently  had  a  spell  of  fever  and  was  feeble,  but 
he  reached  Beaufort  in  time  to  reply  to  Mr.  .!^Ianlv. 
In  his  reply  he  took  ground  for  .Free  Suffrage,  and 
Mr.  Manly  asked  to  be  allowed  till  next  day  at  l^ew- 
berne  to  state  his  position  on  that  subject.  At  ISTew- 
berne  he,  topk  ground  against  it,  fei^d  this  sealed  the 


^  By  the  Constitution  of  North  Carolina,  adopted  in  1770,  fifty- 
acres  in  freehold  was  required  of  all  who  voted  for  State  Sena- 
tors.     [Ed.] 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


Jatt!  of  the  Whig  party  in  ^orth  .I'aroliiia,  and  Iti&o 
announced  in  ^uy  ^ivxt  paper.  ~ 

XTr.  Manly  was  elected  in  August  1848,  by  854 
votes.  In  1849  I  wrote  to  Colonel  Keid  requesting 
bim  to  be  a  candidate  again  for  Governor  in  1850. 
He  replied,  stating  that  he  was  willing  to  do  so,  pro- 
vided he  should  not  be  required  to  approve  the  pro- 
posed Convention  at  Xashville,  Tenn.,  and  the  act 
by  the  Legislature  passed  in  1848,  chartering  the 
N.  C.  Railroad.  I  answered  Colonel  Reid  that  on 
neither  question  was  he  expected  to  commit  himself, 
for  the  reason  that  they  were  both  aside  from  and 
above  the  party.  And  therefore,  all  that  was  expected 
of  him  was  to  enforce  the  law  according  to  the  char- 
ter of  the  road  —  that  a  man  could  be  a  Democrat 
and  at  the  same  time  against  or  for  the  Road  or  the 
Convention.  At  that  time  the  Democratic  party  of 
the  State  was  opposed,  by  a  large  majority,  to  stat^ 
aid  for  internal  improvements.  I  remember  well  at 
the  session  of  1846  when  the  proposition  to  enclose 
the  capitol  grounds  was  pending,  and  $12,000  was  re- 
quired to  build  the  present  iron  fence  around  it,  Col- 
onel John  A.  Fagg,  of  Buncombe,  said  to  me,  that  if  I 
would  vote  $800  for  the  Buncombe  turnpike  road  he 
would  vote  $12,000  to  enclose  the  capitol  square.  I 
told  him  I  would  do  it.  The  bill  passed  by  Colonel 
Fagg's  vote,  and  this  was  as  far  as  I  ever  went  in 
what  is  called  "  log-rolling/' 

The  East  was  especially  opposed  to  appropria- 
tions for  railroads  and  other  improvements.  In  1848 
the  Democratic  party  in  the  State  incurred  great 
danger  from  divisions  on  this  subject.    Colonel  Reid, 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  ITolden  7 

Colonel  Biggs,  and  many  other  leading  and  influen- 
tial members  of  the  party  were  indifferent  or  opposed 
to  internal  improvements,  while  Calvin  Graves,  and 
General  E.  M.  Saunders,  and  Mr.  J.  C.  Dobbin,  and 
Mr.  William  S.  Ashe,  and  Judge  Strange,  and  Mr. 
William  B.  Shepard,  and  Mr.  John  S.  Eaton,  and 
others,  a  small  minority,  were  in  favor  of  them.  A 
caucus  was  held  in  the  (Commons  Hall  at  night  in 
^850,  which  nominated  Colonel  Reid  for  Governor. 
Mr.  John  S.  Eaton  presided.  Colonel  Asa  Biggs 
offered  a  resolution  to  amend  the  State  Constitution, 
to  allow  no  appropriation  for  internal  improvements 
unless  it  had  been  submitted  to  the  people  at  the  polls. 
This  produced  great  excitement.  General  R.  M. 
Saunders  arose  and  declared  indignantly  that,  if  that 
resolution  was  adopted,  5,000  internal  improvement 
Democrats  would  stay  away  from  the  polls,  and  Mr. 
Eaton  gave  notice,  if  the  caucus  passed  it,  he  would 
no  longer  preside.  Colonel  Biggs  then  arose  and 
withdrew  the  resolution,  and  the  party  was  thus 
saved  by  the  firmness  and  devotion  to  principle  of  ^. 
that  small  minority.  Colonel  Reid  was  nominated  V 
the  second  time  for  Governor,  and  his  opponent 
was,  as  before,  Governor  Charles  Manly.  His  ma- 
jority was  2,853  in  1850.  There  was  another  State 
Convention,  and  he  (Reid)  was  nominated  the  third 
time,  his  opponent  being  Hon.  John  Kerr  of  Cas- 
well County.  His  majority  over  Mr.  Kerr  in  1852 
was  5,564.  Towards  the  close  of  his  second  term  he 
was  chosen  a  Senator  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  for  four  years,  and  here  I  take  occasion  in 
this,  the  last  paper  I  shall  ever  write  on  public  affairs. 


^Ikmoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 


to  do  justice  to  Governor  Reid,  by  bearing  my  testi- 
mony to  his  ability  and  fitness  for  the  post  of  Sena- 
tor, and  by  expressing  my  regret  that  I  Avas  at  that 
time  a  candidate  for  the  place  in  opposition  to  him. 
It  was  really  not  opposition  to  him  so  much  as  to 
Governor  Bragg,  who  was  elected  to  the  Senate  over 
both  of  us.  A  friend  who  attended  the  caucus  held  in 
Commons  Hall  to  nominate  a  candidate. for  the  Sen- 
ate, gave  me  the  caucus  vote  at  the  time,  which  I  pre- 
served, as  follows :-:^JBraj^".  40k  HqI/J/'U,-^  Reid  18. 
On  the  second  ballot  Reid's  supporters  all  went  to 
Brag'g,  and  his  vote  was  58,  Holden  36. 
_  Thomas  BraggyJr.,  Esq.,  of  Northampton  County, 
was  Governor  ixeid's  successor,  and  his  nomination 
to  the  office  took  place  thus: — The  Hon.  Daniel  W. 
Courts  was  State  Treasurer.  In  casting  about  for  a 
Democratic  candidate  for  Governor  it  was  arranged 
between  ^^Ir.  Courts  and  myself  that  when  Mr.  Bragg 
came  to  Raleigh  at  the  winter  term  of  the  Supreme 
C\)urt  in  1854,  I  was  to  see  him  and  confer  with  him 
on  the  subject.  I  did  so  at  the  Yarboro  House.  Mr. 
Bragg  consented  to  be  a  candidate  for  Governor,  pro- 
vided he  was  nominated  without  serious  opposition. 
At  the  proper  time  I  called  a  Democratic  meeting  in 
Walce  County,  prepared  the  platform,  which  was 
adopted,  containing  a  resolution  recommending 
Thomas  Bragg  for  Governor.  Wake  County  having 
held  the  first  meeting  and  thus  acted,  Bragg's  name 
was  taken  up  generally  throughout  the  State,  and  at 
the  State  Convention  held  in  the  spring  of  that  year 
he  was  unanimously  nominated  for  Governor.  His 
/I  first  opponent  was  General  Alfred  Dockcry,  of  Rich- 


v.^_ 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  9 


niond  County.  Bragg's  majority  over  Dockery  was 
2,085.  In  1856  Bragg  defeated  John  A.  Gilmer,  of 
Guilford  Coimty,  by  12,628._XAV'orked  very  hard  f or-. 
Bragg,  as  I  had  done  previously  for  Reid.  In  1854 
Bragg's  election  was  put  in  peril  first,  by  the  sudden 
.appearance  of  the  Know  ^Nothings,  and  secondly,  by 
his  indifference  towards  the  proposed  railroad 
through  the  mountains.  General  Dockery  was  openly 
and  boldly  for  this  railroad,  and  was  gaining  votes 
rapidly  in  the  West.  I  wrote  to  Bragg  in  Charlotte, 
on  his  way  West,  in  his  campaign  with  Dockery,  that 
if  he  did  not  come  out  boldly  and  emphatically  the 
signs  were  he  would  be  beaten.  I  also  wrote  to  Cap- 
tain John  Walker  of  Mecklenburg,  asking  him  to 
urge  Bragg  to  take  my  advice.  Mr.  Bragg  at  once 
took  strong  and  positive  grounds  for  the  railroad  to 
run  through  the  mountains,  and  he  was  elected  by  a 
small  majority  in  1854. 

In  1858.  at  a  Democratic  State  iConvention  held 
in  Charlotte,  Judge  John  W.  Ellis  of  Rowan  County, 
was  nominated  for  Governor.^  His  opponent  was 
Colonel  Duncan  K.  McRae  of  Xewberne,  Democrat, 
supported  by  that  (Whig)  party,  which  demanded  a 
distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  public 
lands.  Ellis  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  In 
1860  Governor  Ellis  was  re-elected  over  Hon.  John 
Pool,  of  Pasquotank  County,  who  ran  on  the  Whig 
advalorem  ticket,  by  6,000  majority. 

The  next  Governor  was  chosen  by  the  people  under      J^ 

^  Governor  Holden  is  singularly  silent  concerning  his  own  candi- 
dacy in  this  convention  and  his  defeat  for  the  nomination  by  Mr. 
Ellis.  For  a  thorough  discussion,  see  "The  Democratic  Convention  of 
1858,"'  m  Charlotte  Observer,  May  3,  1908.      [Ed.] 


10  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


an  ordinance  of  the  State  Convention  in  1862^  of 
which  I  shall  speak  after  referring  to  the  then  condi- 
tion of  the  country. 

.,][n  the  winter  of  1S50-60  a  State  Convention  of  the 

._J)emocratie  paiiv  \va>  lu'L!  iu  lialeigh  and  delegates" 

were  appointed  to  a  National  Convention  to  be  held 

in  Charleston,  S.  C.  to  nominate  candidates  for  Pres- 

"ident  and  Vice-President. 

The  delegates  appointed  to  represent  the  '^  state  at 
large"  were  Bedford  Brown,  William  S.  Ashe, 
Waightstill  W.  Averj,  and  W.  W.  Holden.  I  trav- 
eled to  Charleston  mth  Hon.  Bedford  Brown.  I 
found  Hon.  R.  P.  Dick  there  already.  And  here 
commences  a  most  important  sketch  of  my  history. 
I  had  been  acting  for  a  long  time  with  the  State 
Rights  party,  (not  of  the  Yanceyites),  but  was 
in  accord  with  Jackson,  Van  Buren,  and  Bedford 
Brown.  I  was  a  state  delegate,  and  had  a  right  to 
speak  for  the  State  with  Messrs.  Ashe,  Avery,  and 
Brown. 

I  Avas  jealous  for  the  so-called  rights  of  the  South 
on  the  question  of  slavery,  and  greatly  concerned  at 
the  apparently  impending  election  of  a  sectional  can- 
<lidate  for  the  Presidency. 

But  I  was  not  a  Secessionist  nor  a  Revolutionist. 
I  was  strongly  attached  to  the  union  of  the  states,  and 
felt  myself  to  be  a  national  man.  But  for  what  I  saw 
and  heard  I  might  have  gone  with  my  party  and  been 
a  Secessionist. 

^  _When  I  reached  Charleston  I  was  taken  aside  by 
a  friend"  in  whom  I  had  full  confidence,  who  said: 
*'  Holden,  T  know  you  want  to  do  right;   I  have  been 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  11 

here  for  a  day,  and  I  have  information  of  a  purpose  ^ 
on  the  part  of  some  of  our  Southern  friends  to  dis- 
solve the  Union.''  I  was  greatly  surprised  and  con- 
cerned. He  said  to  me,  ^'  I  give  you  to-night  to  listen 
and  learn,  and  in  the  morning  tell  me  what  you 
think  and  what  your  purpose  is." 

The  night  of  the  day  on  which  we  all  reached 
Charleston,  we  held  a  meeting  in  our  delegation  room, 
and  Mr.  Senator  Bayard  of  Delaware  presided.  A 
motion  was  made  to  appoint  a  committee  from  our 
delegation  to  visit  the  Southern  delegations,  and  con- 
fer with  them,  mainly  because  some  of  them  were 
natives  of  l!^orth  Carolina.  This  motion  was  opposed 
by  Bedford  Brown,  B.  P.  Dick,  and  myself  and 
voted  down.  We  maintained  that  it  would  be  a  sec- 
tional act,  and  under  the  circumstances  would  be 
improper. 

And  there  I  saw  the  cropping  out  of  the  purpose 
of  which  my  friend  had  just  warned  me.  Colonel 
Bedford  Brown  had  just  said  to  me,  ^'  Mr.  Holden, 
our  delegation  has  very  properly  decided  not  to  send 
officially  any  one  to  visit  the  Southern  delegates,  but 
we  can  go  as  individuals  to  a  great  meeting  to  be  held 
to-night,  near  this  place,  on  Charleston  street.  I 
propose  to  go,  will  you  go?"  William  A.  Moore  of 
Edenton  was  standing  by,  and  said  he  would  go  too. 

The  meeting  was  held  upstairs  in  a  very  large  room 
which  was  filled.  I  heard  several  speeches  and  they 
were  all  for  dis-union,  save  the  short  speech  made  by 
Colonel  Bedford  Brown.  Mr.  William  L.  Yancey  of 
Alabama  spoke  first,  for  a  considerable  time.  He 
was  followed  by  Mr.   Glenn,  Attorney  General   of 


'-^%« 


12  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

Mississippi.  Colonel  Brown  then  took  the  floor,  being 
called  out  by  Mr.  Glenn,  who  was  his  kinsman.  He 
made  a  conservative,  union  speech,  and  was  inter- 
rupted, and  scraped,  and  coughed  down.  An  Arkan- 
sas militia  general,  whose  name  I  have  forgotten,  and 
who  was  unknown  in  the  conflict  between  the  Korth 
and  South,  replied  to  Colonel  Bro^\^l  and  ridiculed 
his  views,  amid  general  and  vehement  applause.  Col- 
onel Brown  then  turned  to  me  and  said,  ''  Mr. 
Holden,  let  us  shake  oft"  the  dust,  from  our  feet,  of 
this  dis-union  conventicle,  and  retire." 

We  returned  to  the  Charleston  Hotel,  and  very 
soon  a  large  crowd,  with  a  band  of  music,  appeared  at 
the  front  of  the  hotel.  Speaking  was  going  on  at  va- 
rious points,  and  presently  some  bold  fellow  in  front 
of  the  hotel  shouted, (f  Three  cheers  for  the  star-span- 
gled banner,"  and  fled  for  his  life.  The  reply  from 
the  crowd  was,  y  Dcmm  the  star-spangled  banner; 
tear  it  down!'* 

On  my  return  from  Charleston  I  published  all 
these  facts  in  my  paper,  and  warned  my  readers  of 
the  great,  impending  danger.  The  next  morning  I 
told  my  friend  who  had  warned  me  of  the  dan- 
ger of  dis-union  and  of  bolting  the  body,  that 
my  mind  was  made  up,  and  that  I  would  stand  by 
^tlie  American  Union  at  all  hazards,  and  to  the  last 
extremity.  A  few  days  afterwards,  while  the  vote 
was  going  on,  and  while  South  Carolina  and  Georgia 
and  Mississippi  and  Florida  and  Arkansas  and  other 
states  south  of  us  were  bolting,  another  friend  of 
mine,  Mr.  R.  C.  Pearson  of  Burke,  approached  me 
from  the  rear  and  said  to  mo  most  earnostly,  ^'  You 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  13 

must  make  a  speech  and  hold  our  delegation  against 
going  out."  He  had  come  for  me  through  the  Vir- 
ginia delegation  who  sat  in  the  rear,  ^^  for,"  said  he, 
^'  from  what  I  have  heard,  if  our  delegates  go  out, 
Virginia  will  go  out  also,  and  the  convention  will  be 
broken  up." 

I  said,  ''  Mr.  Pearson,  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of 
speaking  very  often  —  there  are  600  delegates  here 
and  a  vast  audience  —  besides,  it  would  be  a  piece 
of  assurance  on  my  part  to  attempt  to  address  this 
body  at  this  time,  especially  amid  this  excitement, 
with  Mr.  Gushing,  the  President  of  the  body,  hostile 
to  Mr.  Douglas  and  his  friends.  I  can't  get  a  hear- 
ing." ^^  Yes,  you  can,"  said  he,  "  I  will  go  around 
and  speak  to  the  Indiana,  the  Illinois,  and  the  Ohio 
delegations,  and  ask  them  when  you  arise  to  speak,  to 
insist  on  ^N^orth  Carolina  being  heard."  I  then  told 
him  I  would  try  as  soon  as  Mr.  Seward  of  Georgia 
took  his  seat.  I  arose  and  said :  "  Mr.  President,  Mr. 
Holden  of  Xorth  Carolina."  Mr.  Cushing  sat  for 
twenty  seconds  and  did  not  recognize  me.  Then  the 
States  mentioned  arose  and  demanded  in  a  voice  of 
thunder  that  l^orth  Carolina  be  heard.  Mr.  Cushing 
arose  and  bowed  and  gave  me  the  floor.  I  spoke  for 
ten  minutes.  I  told  the  convention  that  I  had  been 
sent  there  by  the  State  of  ^orth  Carolina,  one  of 
the  four  delegates  at  large ;  that  I  could  not  be  a\ 
party  to  any  steps  looking  to  dis-union;  that  my 
party  had  sent  me  to  maintain  and  preserve,  and  not 
destroy,  the  bonds  of  the  union ;  that  by  an  immense 
majority  the  people  of  my  state  with  George  Wash- 
ington the  Father  of  the  Country,  "would  frown  in- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


J 


,<^ 


digiiantly  on  the  first  dawdling  of  every  attempt  to 
alienate  any  portion  of  our  Country  from  the  rest, 
or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  link  together  the 
various  parts.'' 

On  my  return  from  Charleston  I  attended  a  meet- 
ing of  the  delegates  of  Wake  County  in  the  Court 
House,  about  225,  to  nominate  candidates  for  the 
Legislature.  I  made  a  speech  on  their  call,  protest- 
ing in  most  earnest  terms  against  secession  and  dis- 
union, and  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  meeting 
embracing  and  sustaining  all  my  views  on  this  ab- 
sorbing question.  Only  one  man  of  that  large  body 
voted  for  dis-union. 
^  ' '  The  Honorable  George  E.  Badger,  who  had  been 
.  identified  as  a  member  of  the  Whig  party  with  the 

^  '  *^cause  of  the  Union,  and  who  had  served  the  ''Xational 
j&overnment"  both  as  Senator  in  Congress  and  as  Sec- 
'  retary  of  the  Navy,  with  Quentin  Busbee  and  myself, 
^    were  candidates  in  Wake  County  as  Union  Demo- 
^  '     crats  for  a  convention  which  was  to  be  called,  if  the 
j)eople  at  the  polls  voted  for  it.     The  election  of  the 
delegates    to    the    state    convention,    and    for    and 
against  the  convention  was  set  for  the  22nd  day  of 
February,  1861.  Party  lines  were  totally  swept  away, 
and  the  people  voted  against  the  convention,  and  the 
delegates-elect  just  named  of  course  never  met.     But 
in  May  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  for  an 
election  of  delegates  to  assemble  in  Raleigh  on  the 
20th  of  May.     Of  course  this  convention  assembled, 
for  the  first  convention  which  was  rejected,  was  never 
held.     The  vote  of  Wake  was  as  follows : —  for  Bad- 
ger, 1952,  Holden  1937,  Busbee  1930.     The  vote  of 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  15 

Ealeigh  was: — Badger  712,  Holden  703,  Busbee 
01  >4,  that  is  to  say  in  the  county  1952  for  the  Union, 
and  758  for  Secession,  and  in  the  city  712  for  the 
Union  and  81  for  Secession. 

In  February  1861,  on  the  morning  of  the  election, 
I  voted  about  10  o'clocE^  Soon  after  I  met  Mr.  Bad- 
ger. He  asked  me  good  humoredly  if  I  had  voted 
the  ticket.  I  told  him  I  had  voted  for  himself,  and 
Mr.  Busbee,  and  for  the  convention.  He  expressed 
surprise  at  my  vote  for  a  convention,  and  asked  my 
reasons  for  thus  voting.  I  replied,  ''  Mr.  Badger, 
today  the  people  of  the  State  will  elect  80  union  and ' 
40  secession  delegates,  and  if  the  convention  carries 
and  is  assembled,  we  can  take  steps  to  prevent  seces^ 
"sioiTaHd  save  the  union.'' ""'He'then  voted  for  Mr. 
Busbee  and  myself  and  for  the  convention.  The  re- 
sult of  this  election  showed  that  I  had  properly  esti- 
mated the  delegates  elected,  (as  for  the  Union  and 
Secession.)  There  were  for  the  Union  83,  for  Secesi 
sion  37. 

In  May  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Badger  and  Mr. 
Kemp  P.  Battle,  (now  President  of  the  University)     / 
were   with    myself   candidates   for    the    convention. 
This  was  after  the  firing  of  the  first  gun  by  the  Con- 
federates   and    after   the   call   by   Mr.    Lincoln   fori 
troops  from  all  of  the  States  to  put  down  secession 
in  the  South.     E^orth  Carolina  could  no  longer  be 
held  for  the  Union,   but  went  with   the   Southern 
States  in  the  contest  for  independence.     The  friends 
^_of  the  Union  had  assumed  the  names"bl 'Conserva^  ^ 
Jives,  and  those  of  the  opposite  party  were  still  called 
Democrats.      The   delegates  met  in   Convention  in 


16 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


/ 


Raleigh  on  the  20th  of  May,  and  the  body  Avas  organ- 
ized by  the  appointment  of  Hon.  Weldon  X.  Ed- 
wards as  President.  The  Hon.  William  A.  Graham, 
of  Orange  County,  was  voted  for  against  him.  Mr. 
Edwards'  majority  was  about  20.  On  that  day  the 
Ordinance  of  Secession  w^as  passed;  the  DemocraJ:s 
insisted^on  Burton  Crajge's _Ordinanc^"wM 
Repealed  ^the  act  of'lTSOjn^  which  the  Stat^ 

jgr  of  the  American  J>JAJon. 
pro^osui^n_ta-_4ill£nd  Mr.  'iCraigeX_0rdi»ati^e^J5:as 
dpfftatpd_  The   Conservatives  voted  to   amend  3Ir. 


aarte^ 
rTEadgeiils^ 


r  d  i  n  ance_b^J-aii^er  ti 

place.     Mr.  ^aogers^^ 

famed  the  reas 


Ordi- 


claimed  revolution^^-aiid  c 

Lthe  State  resisted  Mr.  Lincoln's  call 
coerce  the  Soutfa^fn'''Bta 

I  votea~for  Governor  Graham  for  President 
against  Mr.  Edwards.  I  had  been  opposed  to  Gov- 
ernor Graham  in  politics  for  17  years,  and  acting 
with  Mr.  Edwards  as  a  Democrat  for  17  years,  but 
Mr.  Edwards  had  been  a  secessionist,  and  Governor 

fGraham  had  been  and  was  a  Union  man,  and  I 
voted  accordingly.  In  the  Convention  Mr.  Badger 
Ex-Governor  Graham,  and  myself  sat  near  each 
other,  and  Governor  Graham  the  next  day  sent  me 
word  by  Mr.  Ben  Xittrell,  of  Davidson  County,  now 
deceased,  that  he  proposed  that  we  should  be  recon- 
ciled and  on  speaking  terms,  "for,"  said  Mr.  Kittrell, 
"  Mr.  Graham  has  just  said  to  me,  he  believes  you 
are  a  true  man."  I  replied  to  Mr.  Kittrell,  '*  Please 
say  to  Mr.  Graham,  I  would  like  to  be  on  speaking 
terms  with  him,  but  how  shall  it  be  effected  V'    He 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  17 


said,  ^'  Mr.  Graham  has  arranged  all  that.  He  says 
you  are  the  youngest  man,  and  should  approach  him 
first.  You  have  both  about  equally  offended  each  / 
other.  He  says  when  the  Convention  adjourns  today, 
he  will  stand  in  his  place  near  his  seat,  and  as  you 
approach  him  he  will  extend  his  hand  and  shake 
hands."  I  was  glad  to  be  on  speaking  terms  with 
Governor  Graham,  and  during  the  session  and  after- 
wards, I  conferred  with  him  freely  and  profited  by 
his  advice. 

Mr.  Badger  and  myself  had  also  been  on  indiffer- 
ent terms,  until  in  the  Court  House  on  the  day  he 
accepted  the  nomination,  I  having  just  accepted  mine, 
he  approached  me  through  the  bar  and  offered  his 
hand  which  I  cordially  and  gladly  accepted.  The 
audience  knowing  our  alienation  approved  it,  with 
thunders  of  applause. 

The  Convention,  in  which  I  served  for  some  time, 
consisted  of  about  70  Democrats  and  50  Conserva- 
tives. Their  political  antipathies  were  deep  and 
strong,  yet  they  controlled  themselves  admirably,  and 
nothing  occurred  to  interrupt  their  personal  friend- 
ships. I  remember  well,  that  when  the  act  of  seces- 
sion was  consummated,  the  body  looked  like  a  sea^ 
partly  in  storm,  partly  calm,  the  Secessionists  shout- 
ing and  throwing  up  their  hats  and  rejoicing,  the  ^ 
Conservatives  sitting  quietly,  calm,  and  depressed.) 


CHAPTER   IT. 

WAR   POLITICS 

THE     NOMIXATIOX     OF     VANCE CONFEDERATE     AND 

STATE  POLITICS THE  LAUKEL  VALLEY  AFFAIR 

EDITORIALS    OF    APRIL^     1865  EDWIN     G.     READE 

TO  THE  CONFEDERATE  SENATE  IN   1864. 

It  was  during  the  session  of  that  Convention 
that  the  candidates  for  the  office  of  Governor 
were  agreed  upon.^  Colonel  Z^^JB^Vance  was  in 
Raleigh  in  December  1^1,  on  his  way  to  Wash- 
ington City.  In  all  respects  he  was  a  devoted 
£  friend  to  the  Union  of  the  States.  He  spoke 
twice  in  Raleigh  to  large  audiences,  one  night 
in  the  Court  House  and  one  night  in  Commons  Hall. 
He  was  on  each  occasion  in  a  very  serious  frame  of 
mind.  All  the  portents  indicated  bloodshed  and  war. 
He  spoke  on  both  occasions  for  more  than  an  hour, 
;  and  though  his  manner  and  style  up  to  that  time  had 
always  been  full  of  anecdote  and  fun,  yet  he  was 
first  and  last  as  sober  as  a  judge.  He  was  too  deeply 
in  earnest  to  make  a  joke  or  provoke  a  laugh. 

That  great  tribune  of  the  people,  Henry  Watkins 
Miller,  spoke  in  Commons  Hall  at  the  same  time,  and 
the  people  of  all  parties,  who  were  present  in  large 
numbers,  hung  on  and  endorsed  their  words. 

During  the  winter  and  spring  of  1862,  the  .Con- 
servatives of  the  State  were  casting  about  for  a  can- 
didate for  Governor.     Z.  B.  Vance  and  Ex-Governor 

^     *  There  were  four  sessions  of  the  Convention,  the  last  in  April, 
1862.      [Ed.] 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  19 

Graham  were  nominated  in  various  counties,  but  the 
latter  declined  in  a  card,  published  in  the  Standard, 
The  Reverend  William  E.  Pell  was  then  employed 
by  me  as  x\ssistant  Editor  of  the  Standard,  and  I  re- 
quested him  to  call  on  Governor  Graham,  w^ho  was 
then  in  Raleigh,  and  urge  him  to  be  a  candidate.   Mr. 
Pell  did  so  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  Gov- 
ernor Graham  on  the  subject  and  on  public  affairs. 
I  also  asked  Mr.  Badger  to  see  Governor  Graham  and 
urge  him  to  run  for  Governor.     Mr.  Badger  declined 
to  do  so,  and  said  Graham  had  been  Governor  once 
for  four  years,  and  would  have  the  trouble  and  ex- 
pense of  moving  his  family  to  Raleigh,  and  also  no 
doubt  be  involved  in  troubles   and   difficulties  with 
the    central    government    at     Richmond,    and    that 
when  this    should    occur,    as    he    feared  it  would, 
he      did      not      want      Ex-Governor      Graham      to 
point     at     him     and     say,    ^^  Badger,    you     helped 
to    involve   me    in    all    this    trouble.''     I     then     de- 
termined to  fix  on  Z.  B.  Vance  for  Governor.     I  felt 
that  being  a  Democrat^  and  Vance  a  Whig,  his  nom- 
ination had  better  proceed  from  a  Whig  —  for  exam- 
ple, the  Fayetteville  Observer.     I  wrote  therefore  at 
once  to  Augustus  S.  Merrimon  of  Asheville,  Bun- 
combe County,  to  come  to  Raleigh  and  aid  me  in 
the  work  of  bringing  Vance  forward.     I  had  heard 
Mr.  Merrimon  speak  in  the  House  of  Commons  in 
the  fall  of  1861  with  marked  ability  and  power  for 
the  Union.   He  was  a  young  man  of  the  highest  prom- 
ise.    He  has  since  been  a  Senator  in  Congress,  and 
is  now  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  ^orth 
Carolina.     After  consulting  with  Mr.  Merrimon,  he 


20  Mkmoiks  of  \V.  W.  Holden 


went  to  Fayetteville  and  consulted  with  Mr.  Hale. 
Mr.  Hale  said  to  Mr.  Merrimon  that  1  (Holden). 
having  been  a  Democrat,  was  the  proper  ]jerson  to 
raise  Colonel  Vance's  name.  Mr.  Merrimon  then 
wrote  a  brief  article  which  appeared  under  the  edi- 
torial head  of  the  Observer,  marked  ^'  communi- 
cated/' nominating  Vance  for  Governor.  He  then 
returned  to  Raleigh  by  way  of  Kinston  —  Colonel 
Vance  being  at  Kinston  with  his  reghnent  —  and  ob- 
tained from  him  his  letter  of  acceptance,  and  reached 
Raleigh  with  it.  A  meeting  was  held  in  the 
office  of  Daniel  G.  Fowle'  (now  Governor  of  the 
State)  in  a  house  then  standing  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Henry  building  on  Fayetteville  St.  There 
were  present  in  this  meeting  Honorable  Daniel  G. 
Fowle,  Colonel  W.  H.  Harrison,  A.  S.  Merrimon. 
Esq.,  Colonel  James  F.  Taylor,  and  myself,  and  on 
the  4th  day  of  June  1862,  I  hoisted  Vance's  name  for 
[jCjovernor.  The  election  took  place  in  August,  1S62, 
and  Vance's  majority  over  Colonel  William  Johnston 
of  Mecklenlnirg  was  33,975.  The  vote  of  Wake 
County  was: — Vance  2,269,  Johnston  489.  The  fol- 
lowing is  Colonel  Vance's  letter  of  acceptance : 

'  Daniel  <i.  Fowle  now  Governor  of  this  State  is  a  native  of  the 
County  of  Beaufort,  N.  C.  When  a  young  man  he  settled  in  Ral- 
eigh as  a  member  of  the  bar.  He  had  in  Wake  County  court  a  case 
in  Detinue  among  other  cases.  He  had  made  his  argument  and 
Mr.  Badger  who  was  presiding  in  the  Court  charged  against  him. 
He  asked  to  be  heard  and  spoke  for  a  little  while  on  the  law  in  the 
case.  Mr.  Badger  asked  him  to  stop.  He  said,  "The  counsel  has 
refreshed  my  mind  on  the  ancient  principles  in  the  case.  I  have 
heard  him  with  pleasure  and  thauK  him  for  his  citation  of  the 
old  principles  in  the  case.  Believing  him  to  be  correct,  I  with- 
draw my  charge  to  the  jury".  This  incident  was  the  town  talk 
for  some  time  and  did  Mr.  Fowle  much  good  in  his  profession.  I 
trust  he  will  he  nivvays  as  fortunate  in  his  positions  and  views, 
as  he  was  on   this  occasion  with   Mr.   Badger. 

In  the  Sttindnrfl  of  Dec.  12,  1862,  I  used  the  following  language 
in  relation  to  Col.  Daniel  (i.  Fowle.  "He  is  destined,  if  his  life 
and  health  should  be  spared,  to  achieve  an  enviable  State  reputa- 
tion." 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  21 

Headquarters  X.  ,C.  Troops^ 

KiNSTOJf^  June  15,  1862. 

Editor  of  the  Sta]?^dard: — A  number  of  pri- 
mary meetings  of  the  people,  and  a  respectable  por- 
tion of  the  newspapers  of  the  State,  having  put 
forward  my  name  for  the  office  of  Governor,  to  which 
I  may  also  add  the  reception  of  numerous  letters  to 
the  same  purport,  I  deem  it  proper  that  I  should 
make  some  response  to  these  flattering  indications 
of  confidence  and  regard. 

Believing  that  the  only  hope  of  the  South  depended 
upon  the  prosecution  of  the  war  at  all  hazards  and 
to,  the  utmost  extremity,  so  long  as  the  foot  of  an 
invader  joressed  Southern  soil,  I  took  the  field  at  an 
early  day,  with  the  determination  to  remain  there 
until  our  independence  was  achieved.  My  convic- 
tions in  this  regard  remain  unchanged.  In  accord- 
ance therewith  I  have  steadily  and  sincerely  declined 
all  promotion,  save  that  which  placed  me  at  the  head 
of  the  gallant  men  whom  I  now  command.  A  true 
man  should,  however,  be  willing  to  serve  wherever 
the  public  voice  may  assign  him.  If,  therefore,  my 
felloAv-citizens  believe  that  I  could  serve  the  great 
cause  better  as  Governor  than  I  am  now  doing,  and 
should  see  proper  to  confer  this  great  responsibility 
upon  me,  without  solicitation  on  my  part,  I  should 
not  feel  at  liberty  to  decline  it,  however  conscious  of 
my  own  unworthiness. 

In  thus  frankly  avowing  my  willingness  to  labor 
in  any  position  which  may  be  thought  best  for  the 
public  good,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  considered  guilty  of 
the   affectation   of   indifference   to   the   great   honor 


/ 


22  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

which  my  fellow-citizens  thus  propose  to  bestow  upon 
me.  On  the  contrary,  I  should  consider  it  the  crown- 
ing glory  of  my  life  to  be  placed  in  a  position  where 
I  could  most  advance  the  interests  and  honor  of 
i^orth-Carolina,  and,  if  necessary,  lead  her  gallant 
sons  against  her  foes.  But  I  shall  be  content  with 
the  people's  will.    Let  them  speak. 

Sincerely  deprecating  the  growing  tendency  to- 
w^ards  party  strife  amongst  our  people,  which  every 
patriot  should  shun  in  the  presence  of  the  common 
danger,  I  earnestly  pray  for  that  unity  of  sentiment 
and  fraternity  of  feeling,  which  alone,  with  the  favor 
of  God,  can  enable  us  to  prosecute  this  war  for  Lib- 
erty and  Independence  against  all  odds,  and  under 
every  adversity,  to  a  glorious  and  triumphant  issue. 
Very  sincerely  yours, 

Z.  B.  Vance. 

^ov.  Vance  was  elected  Governor  in  1862.  He 
was  in  the  Confederate  service  at  the  head  of  a  reg- 
iment raised  partly  in  Buncombe  (his  native) 
County.  He  participated  in  the  battle  below  Xew^- 
bern  under  General  L.  O'B.  Branch.  Gen.  Branch 
was  defeated  and  Newborn  was  occupied  by  the  fed- 
eral forces.  (Col.  Vance  retreated  in  a  masterly  man- 
ner, crossing  the  Trent  river  and  reaching  Kinston 
where  he  remained  until  nominated  for  Governor]^ 
He  had  been  engaged  with  his  troops  in  the  great  bat- 
tle of  Malvern  Hill  which  was  fought  on  the  3rd  day 
of  July  18G2,  and  his  friends  were  anxious  for  his 
promotion  to  be  a  brigadier,  and  therefore  he  had 
received  authority  to  form  a  legion  of  men  to  be  as 


Me:\ioirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  23 

large  a  body  of  men  as  a  brigade.  In  the  Spring  of 
1862  it  was  stated  in  the  Standard  that  forty  (40) 
companies  had  tendered  themselves  to  Vance  to  form 
his  Legion.  The  Adjutant  of  his  regiment  under 
orders  of  Col.  Vance  applied  to  the  War  Office  at 
Raleigh  for  tents  and  all  necessary  articles  for  a  camp 
at  Kittrell  Springs  for  his  Legion.  The  request  was 
granted,  and  the  Adjutant  left  the  Office  and  had 
reached  the  northern  gate  of  the  Capitol,  when  he 
was  called  back  by  an  officer  and  the  order  taken  away 
and  refused.  The  question  occurs  again  and  again, 
why  was  not  Vance  made  a  brigadier  by  the  powers 
at  Richmond  ?  When  Governor,  and  before,  in  the 
ensueing  August  he  went  to  Richmond  to  confer  with 
Mr.  Davis,  he  and  I  noted  the  fact  that  Mr.  Davis 
had  appointed  twenty-one  brigadier  generals  and  all 
Democrats  but  one,  and  that  one  was  General  R.  B. 
Vance,  his  brother.. 

Tlie_ truth,  i s .jaL-Mj^r^^gd ,  one^  Jha t _i t  was.  a  party*) 
Avar  on  botJudxLe*, — Mr^-  .Duvia„.^nd...hi_s_go}^rnment ' 
at  Richmond  were  Democrats.     Mr.  Lincoln  and  his*' 
government  at  Washington  were  Republicans.   Party 
and  faction  ruled  the  hour.     Governor  Vance  went 
to  Richmond  in  August,  1862,  and  remained  four  or 
^ve  days.    I  know  the  fact  that  he  felt  that  Mr.  Davis  , 
had  treated  him  badly  as  a  party  man.     Vance  him- 
self showed  no  party  spirit  and  no  spirit  of  faction  ( 
in  his  high  office.    He  had  full  and  free  conversations 
with  Mr.  Davis  and  others  high  in  power  at  Rich- 
mond.    Soon  after  this  the  Hon.  John  H.  Haughton 
of  Chatham  wrote  him  a  letter,  and  he  replied  to  it 
stating  views  and  opinions  which  were,  as  I  deemed 


24  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

them,  very  extreme  and  violent.  I  thouglit  it  an  ultra 
war  letter  and  calculated  to  dim  the  prospects  of 
peace  between  the  two  sections.  He  showed  it  to  me 
and  asked  my  opinion  of  it.  I  dissented  from  its 
tone.  He  then  sent  it  to  Governor  Graham  and  asked 
his  opinion  as  to  whether  he  should  send  it  to  Mr. 
Haughton  and  publish  it.  Governor  Graham  struck 
out  the  material  portion  of  the  letter  and  greatly 
changed  it.  The  letter  was  never  published,  but 
much  of  it  appeared  later  in  one  of  his  proclamations. 
A  short  time  after  this  Governor  Graham  was  in- 
vited to  Raleigh,  and  I  was  sent  for  to  come  do^vn 
and  meet  him  at  the  Governor's  Mansion.  I  went 
down  in  company  with  F.  E.  Satterthwaite,  Esq.,  of 
Washington,  N.  C.  Mr.  Satterthwaite  agreed  with 
me,  but  took  no  part  in  the  conversation.  Governors 
Graham  and  Vance  and  myself  talked  for  a  long  time 
on  the  state  of  the  country.  About  that  time  I  was 
publishing  a  series  of  proceedings  of  peace  meetings 
in  various  counties.  Gov.  Vance  was  opposed  to 
'  to  them.  I  told  him  the  people  had  a  right  to  assem- 
ble and  express  their  opinion  and  petition  for  redress 
of  grievances,  but  I  did  not  approve  of  propositions 
to  return  to  the  union  unconditionally;  yet  the  peo- 
ple who.  held  these  meetings  were  the  men  who  elected 
him  Governor.  Governor  Graham  in  this  respect 
seemed  to  concur  with  me  more  than  Governor 
Vance,  and  he  said  to  me,  ^'Mr.  Holden,  what  can  we 
do  ?  You  have  spoken  very  strongly  of  the  Confed- 
erate Government  at  Richmond.  Where  is  the  rem- 
edy ?  It  is  the  only  Government  we  have  —  we  owe 
a  areat  deal  to  the  states  that  went  out  with  us  —  we 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  25 

[did  not  Avant  to  go  out,  but  the  pressure  was  so  great 
that  we  had  to  go  with  them,  and  as  a  matter  of 
honor  we  could  not  abandon  them.  I  am  not  without 
hope  that  the  crisis  will  be  upon  us  in  the  ensue- 
ing  Spring,  when  the  troops  will  then  cease  to  re- 
enlist/'  The  meaning  of  which  was,  as  I  understood 
it,  Governor  Graham  feared  that  the  troops  would 
fail  to  re-enlist,  and  the  Confederate  Government 
would  be  greatly  embarrassed.  He  added,  ^'  Let  us 
worry  through  the  fall  and  winter  as  best  we  may.'^ 
Governor  Graham  said  he  hoped  that  I  would  in  my 
paper  counsel  the  people  to  submit  to  the  laws,  al- 
though the  officers  appointed  to  collect  the  tithe*? 
were  mainly  Virginians  and  Marylanders,  and 
therefore  there  was  danger  of  the  people  resisting 
the  law  because  the  officers  were  from  other  states. 
I  told  him  I  would  do  so  in  my  next  issue,  and  I  did 
so,  and  counselled  the  people  to  obey  the  law,  no 
matter  who  the  officers  might  be. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  wide  separation^ 
between  Governor  Yance  and  myself  which  resulted^- 
in  my  opposing  him  for  Governor  in  1^4,  and  here 
I  may  say,  and  do  say  in  the  most  emphatic  manner, 
that  I  have  never  questioned  his  integrity,  nor  his 
honor,  nor  the  sincerity  of  his  devotion  to  his  prin- 
ciples, or  to  the  people  whose  servant  he  was  and  is. 

And  further  I  will  say  I  am  not  writing  a  history. 
While  my  mind  is  full  of  the  events  of  the  past,  and 
men  and  things  of  which  I  am  writing  swarm  before 
my  vision,  I  have  not  the  physical  strength  to  catch 
and  fix  them  all  on  paper,  or  to  refer  to  documents 
an«l  handle  them,  and  deduce  therefrom  the  actions 


26  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

and  the  characters  of  the  men  concerned.  These  are 
simply  stray  bits  of  history.  T  am  innocent  of  any 
purpose  to  do  injustice  to  anyone. 

As  I  have  said.  Governor  Vance  but  one  month 
before  his  election  for  Governor  was  unavoidably 
obliged  to  be  engaged  in  the  great  battle  of  Malvern 
Hill.  If  he  had  been  slain  in  that  battle,  the  people 
of  Xorth  Carolina  would  have  been  put  to  loss  and 
sadly  grieved.  Without  asking  for  it,  or  his  friends 
asking  for  it,  he  ought  to  have  been  furloughed  as 
soon  as  he  was  announced  as  candidate  for  Governor, 
and  my  belief  is  that  this  would  have  been  done  if  he 
had  been  a  Democrat. 

Governor  Yance  was  inaugurated  on  the  8th  day 
of  September,  1862.  There  was  a  large  crowd  of 
people  in  Raleigh  on  this  occasion.  He  was  inaugu- 
rated on  the  western  front  of  the  State  House,  on  the 
same  spot  where  Henry  .Clay  made  his  speech  in 
1844.  yTe  was  destined  to  be  the  great  Conservative 
War  Governor  of  the  South.  Before  his  inaugura- 
tion I  called  upon  him  at  the  Yarboro  House,  and  he^ 
showed  me  his  inaugural  speech  in  manuscript,  and 
asked  my  opinion  of  it.  It  was  a  good  document  of 
its  kind.  He  made  one  alteration  at  my  suggestion. 
He  had  referred  to  the  conscript  law  as  constitu- 
tional;  he  altered  it  so  as  to  make  it  read  that  it 
might  be  constitutional.  I  had  always  regarded  it, 
under  both  govoniments,  old  and  new,  as  unconsti- 
tutional. Hon.  William  Gaston,  in  a  great  speeech  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  Washington  City 
in  1812,  during  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  had  de- 
clared conscription  unconstitutional,  and   had  vehe- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  27 

mently  opposed  it.     There  was  no  power  under  the 
old  government  or  the  new  to  enact  it. 

The  idea  of  sending  free  citizens  of  the  States 
from  their  homes  to  camps  of  instruction 
against  their  will,  to  be  trained  to  fight  for  liberty, 
was,  to  say  the  least,  absurd.  The  war  should  have 
been  a  voluntary  one,  and  if  force  had  been  necessary 
to  be  used  to  put  men  in  the  Southern  Army,  that 
force  should  have  been  used  by  the  States  themselves, 
and  not  by  the  Confederate  Government.  When  that! 
law  was  passed  by  the  Confederate  Government  over  I  / 
the  States  and  enforced  by  that  Government  in  the 
States,  every  vestige  of  constitutional  liberty  in 
the  States  vanished. 

For  holding  these  views,  which  I  did  sincerely,  the 
separatioin  between  Gov.  Vance,  myself,  and  Mr. 
Davis  was  still  more  widened,  not  that  Vance  p^- 
ferred  the  conscript  law,  and  not  that  as  far  as  he 
could  he  did  not  acquiesce  in  injustice  to  Korth  Car- 
olina, yet  he  was  powerless  under  the  circumstances 
to  defend  his  State  against  the  agressions  of  the 
central  power. 

In  Deecmber  1862  occurred  the  famous  or  rather 
infamous  execution  of  loyal  men  in  the  Laurel  Val- 
ley, in  the  County  of  Madison.  Mr.  Augustus  S. 
Merrimon  then  Solicitor  in  the  mountain  district 
reported  the  facts  to  Governor  Vance.  I  called  at 
his  office  to  get  the  facts.  Governor  Vance  was  very 
indignant.  His  form  dilated  as  he  said,  "  This  was 
done  by  Colonel  Keith  of  the  64th  ]N'.  C.  and  I  will 
write  to  Mr.  Seddon,  Secretary  of  War  at  Richmond, 
to  have  him  courtmartialed,  and  I  will  follow  him 


28  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

(Keith)  to  the  gates  of  hell  or  hang  him.''  The 
facts  were,  that  a  body  of  men  and  boys,  eight  or  ten, 
had  made  a  raid  from  Laurel  Valley  to  Salisbury 
to  get,  as  they  said,  their  share  of  salt,  and  going  and 
returning  committed  outrages  by  taking  property, 
etc.,  on  their  route.  For  this  Lt.  Colonel  Keith, 
commanding  the  64th  regiment  in  that  locality,  ar- 
rested them  —  men  and  boys  and  some  women  — 
and  shot  them  and  buried  them  on  the  spot  in 
trenches,  j  The  women,  with  ropes  around  their 
necks,  were  whipped.  One  of  the  boys,  about  fifteen 
years  old,  was  shot  and  not  killed.  His  arm,  badly 
shot,  hung  by  his  side.  His  mother  begged  for  his 
life  and  Colonel  Keith  killed  him  by  shooting  him  in 
the  head  with  a  pistol.  Mr.  Seddon,  Secretary  of 
War,  had  Colonel  Keith  courtmartialed  at  Governor 
Vance's  request,  and  Colonel  Keith  on  the  trial  jus- 
tified himself  by  showing  that  he  had  acted  in  the 
matter  by  the  authority  of  General  Harry  Heth. 
Afterwards,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  Colonel  Keith 
was  arrested  and  lodged  in  Raleigh  jail.  He  thus 
strangely  enough  fell  into  my  hands  to  be  sent  to 
!Madison  County  for  trial  for  this  crime.  The  Sheriff 
of  Madison  County  with  the  deputy  called  on  me  for 
him.  I  told  him  (the  Sheriff)  that  I  had  heard  that 
Keith's  life  would  be  in  danger  at  the  hands  of  the 
friends  of  the  murdered  people,  if  he  was  carried 
through  Buncombe  and  Madison  to  the  jail  in  the 
latter  county;  and  that  he  must  promise  me  as  the 
condition  of  the  delivery  of  Keith  to  him,  that  he 
would  take  him  by  way  of  the  East  Tennessee  rail- 
way, to  a  point  west  of  Madison  County,  and  deliver 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  29 

him  from  that  point  to  the  jail  of  the  county.  He 
promised  to  do  this,  and  Keith  was  thus  delivered 
safely  to  the  jail  to  be  held  for  trial  for  this  outrage, 
but  he  escaped  from  the  jail  and  iled  the  State,  and 
I,  as  Governor  offered  a  reward  of  $500  for  his  appre- 
hension and  detention,  and  this  is  the  last  I  have 
heard  from  Keith.  It  is  thought  he  escaped  to  Cal- 
ifornia. He  may  be  alive  yet.  And  thus  the  blood 
of  these  people  is  still  unavenged.  I  refer  to  this 
unhappy  matter  as  a  specimen  of  many  events  which 
took  place  to  embarrass  and  trouble  Governor  Vance. 
But  these  w^ere  only  the  beginnings '  of  troubles 
and  sorrows.  This  opens  the  year  1863.  Through 
this  year  and  the  next,  1864,  and  half  of  the  next, 
18^5,  until  Sherman  and  his  mighty  army  reached 
here,  in  April,  for  two  years  and  six  months  we  wor- 
ried and  fought  on,  and  suffered  as  no  people  have 
ever  w^orried,  and  fought  and  sufl'ered  in  civilized 
ages  or  States.  I  have  ransacked  repeatedly  all  the 
chambers  of  my  memory  in  relation  to  these  things, 
and  I  here  state  unreservedly  that  history  contains 
no  account  of  a  people  who  have  endured  more  for 
the  sake  of  their  principles  and  liberties,  as  they  un- 
derstood them,  than  the  people  of  i^orth  Carolina. 
Modest,  unselfish,  brave  beyond  the  common  run  of 
men,  they  have  never  demanded  what  was  not  by 
right  their  own,  and  never  submitted  cravenly  to 
injustice  or  wrong  —  and  with  the  help  of  God  they 
never  will!  And  I  also  state  unreservedly,  having 
said  thus  much,  that  Zebulo^"  Baird  Vance,  their 
leader  in  all  these  things,  was  and  is,  their  foremostj 
man  in  all  their  annals,  old  and  new.    I  know  whereof 


30  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

I  speak.  As  to  mere  bravery  it  is  useless  to  speak. 
The  number  of  those  who  went  to  battle  and  steeled 
and  hardened  themselves  for  their  State  and  her 
cause,  is  legion.  It  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to 
point  out  the  meritorious  among  the  thousands  and 
thousands  in  the  ranks,  among  the  privates  who  stood 
for  and  died  in  her  service,  and  those  of  them  of  this 
stamp  who  survive  can  be  trusted  implicitly,  for 
J^rave  men  are  never  treacherous,  but  will  do  what 
they  promise.  In  the  presence  of  the  shades  of  the 
dead  and  in  the  presence  of  those  who  survive,  I 
would  name  but  two  men  of  all  that  vast  number, 
(and  I  might  name  thousands),  but  I  refer  to  only 
two  men  who  were  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  I  mean 
Clarl-  Moulton  Avery,  of  Burke  County,  and  Bryan 
Grimes,  of  Pitt. 

And  so  we  worried  on  and  suffered  and  fought  till 
Sherman  came  in  from  the  South  in  Api^l,  1865. 
Gov.  Vance  sent  Ex-Gov.  Swain  and  Ex-Gov.  Gra- 
ham to  meet  Sherman  to  surrender  the  City  of 
Ealeigh  and  ask  for  terms.  They  met  him  a  few 
miles  south  of  the  -City.  He  told  them  he  had  no 
l^ower  to  treat,  and  they  eifected  no  special  terms, 
yet  they  received  the  impression  the  City  would  be 
spared  if  no  resistance  were  near  it,  or  in  it.  Gen- 
eral Sherman  reached  here  on  the  15th  of  April  with 
75,000  men,  which  were  encamped  in  and  around  the 
City.  Governor  Vance  of  course  had  left  for  the 
western  part  of  the  State.  Gen.  Sherman  afterwards 
undertook  to  make  a  covenant  with  General  Joseph 
E.  Johnston,  commanding  the  Confederate  Army 
which  when  reported  to  President  Johnson  at  Wash- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  31 

ington  City  and  his  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Stanton, 
was  not  approved.  The  State  was  not  to  go  back  with 
her  then  government  as  she  was,  but  the  new  adminis- 
tration of  Johnson,  who  had  just  succeeded  President 
Lincohi,  determined  to  restore  the  States  lately  in 
rebellion  to  their  nej^v  relations  to  the  National  Gov- 
ernment. It  was  not  reconstruction,  but  restoration 
which  was  then  proposed.  The  following  order  from 
Gen.  Sherman,  which  appeared  in  a  Raleigh  paper, 
contains  the  grateful  assurances  of  peace : — 

HIGHLY  IMPOKTANT  ORDER. 

We  are  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Gen.  Sher- 
man for  the  following  highly  important  Order,  which 
we  lose  no  time  in  laying  before  our  readers. 

We  have  only  time  to  say  that  the  assurances  of 
a  speedy  Peace  which  this  Order  contains,  will  cause 
a  thrill  of  joy  in  the  breast  of  every  true  American. 

Hd^qrs  Military  Div^n  of  the  Miss.^ 
ijn^  the  field^ 
Raleigh,  JST.  C,  April  19th,  1865. 

Special  Field  Orders^  'No.  58. 

The  General  commanding  announces  to  the 
army  a  suspension  of  hostilities  and  an  agreement 
with  General  Johnston  and  other  high  officials  which, 
when  formally  ratified,  will  make  peace  from  the 
Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande.  Until  the  absolute  peace 
is  arranged,  a  line  passing  through  Tirrell's  Mount, 
Chapel  Hill  University,  Durham  Station  and  West 
Point  on  the  ISTeuse  River  will  separate  the  two 
armies. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


Each  army  commaiuler  will  group  his  camps 
entirely  with  a  view  to  comfort,  health  and  good 
police. 

All  the  details  of  military  discipline  must  still 
be  maintained,  and  the  General  hopes  and  believes 
that,  in  a  few  davs,  it  will  be  his  2;ood  fortune  to 
conduct  you  all  to  your  homes. 

The  fame  of  this  army  for  courage,  industry 
and  discipline  is  admitted  all  over  the  world.  Then 
let  each  officer  and  man  see  that  it  is  not  stained  by 
any  act  of  vrdgarity,  rowdyism,  or  petty  crime. 

The  Cavalry  will  patrol  the  front  line ;  Gen. 
Howard  will  take  charge  of  the  district  from  Raleigh 
up  to  the  Cavalry;  Gen.  Slocum  to  the  left  of 
Raleigh;  Gen.  Schofield  in  Raleigh,  its  right  and 
rear. 

Quartermasters  and  Commissaries  will  keep  their 
supplies  up  to  a  light  load  for  their  wagons,  and 
the  Rail  Road  Superintendent  will  arrange  depot 
for  the  convenience  of  each  separate  army. 

By  order  of 

"  '  Maj.  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman. 
L.  M.  Dayton,  A.  A.  G.' '' 

In  the  North  Carolina  Standard  of  April  !20th, 
1865,  I  used  the  following  words: — 

''  Our  people  are  just  emerging  from  a  desolating" 
war,  and  a  large  majority  of  them  are  destitute  not 
only  of  the  comforts  but  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 
They  have  been  compelled  to  drink  the  cup  of  ^  peace- 
abel  secession  '  to  the  dregs.  They  have  lost  life, 
property,   comforts,   everything  but  honor ;     and   at 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  33 


one  time  many  of  them  feared  that  even  hope  was 
gone.  The  contest  is  now  virtually  at  an  end,  and  it 
IS  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen  to  strengthen  the 
arm  of  just  authority,  and  to  aid  in  bringing  order 
from  chaos,  so  that  industry  may  be  protected  and 
rewarded  and  our  former  prosperity  and  happiness 
restored. 

''  Up  to  the  hour  when  the  states  south  of  us  madly 
shot  from  their  appropriate  orbits  in  the  federal  sys- 
tem, the  hands  of  the  federal  government  had  never 
been  laid  upon  them  but  to  protect  and  benefit  them. 
The  old  flag  never  waved  whether  on  land  or  sea  but 
for  their  protection.    And  now,  after  a  long  and  most 
desolating  war  between  brethren,  let  us  hope  that  the 
same  flag,  restored  to  its  original  place  in  the  heavens, 
will  wave  as  our  flag  once  more  and  forever,  protect- 
ing everyone  who  may  rest  or  labor  under  its  gorgeous 
folds.     We  feel  sure  that  it  will.     We  f eel  .^re  that  7 
our  recent  enemies  are  now  generoua^riends.     We 
see,  and  hear,  and  feel  this  in  alllhey  say  and  do  in 
our  midst.     But  the  ocean,  after  a  storm,  does  not 
inmiediately  subside.     The  great  waves  still  roll,  and 
the  'Svhite-caps"  are  seen  upon  the  breakers.   It  is  so  * 
with  society.     Our  people  will  need,  for  months  to 
come,  the  strong  arm  of  military  power  to  protect/ 
them  m  their  pursuits,  and  to  restore  order  to  soci-* 
ety.     It  is  not  for  us  to  say  by  what  mode  this  shall 
be  accomplished,  but  only  to  declare  our  conviction' 
that  It  is  indispensable.    Under  proper  auspices,  and 
with  the  incitement  to  renewed  labor  which  all  our 
people  will  have,  we  may  hope  again  to  see  our  fields 
growing  green  for  the  future  harvests,   our  work- 


34  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

shops  crowded  with  industrious  mechanics  and  arti- 
sans, our  commerce  whitening  our  waters,  our  schools 
resuming  their  operations,  and  plenty  and  happiness 
beaming  among  us.  Let  us  look  forward  with  hope 
to  the  good  day  which  seems  to  be  ahead  of  us,  and 
endeavor  to  forget  the  sufferings  through  which  we 
have  passed.  ^  The  gods  help  those  who  help  them- 
selves.' Let  us  all  cheerfully  ^accept  the  situation,' 
and  go  to  work  to  improve  our  condition.  We  are 
all  comparatively  poor,  but  we  have  friends  who  will 
aid  us, — we  shall  have  the  protection  of  a  strong  and 
good  government,  one  that  will  extend  to  us  credit 
for  what  we  may  need,  and  take  pleasure  in  encour- 
aging us  in  our  efforts  to  restore  our  former  pros- 
perity." ^ 

Also  in  the  Standard  of  April  24^  1865,  I  wrote 
as  follows : — 

''  One  of  the  most  difficult  and  perplexing  ques- 
tions to  be  settled  is  the  relation  which  must  subsist 
in  the  future  in  this  state  between  the  white  and 
black  populations.  Everyone  agrees  that  slavery  will 
cease  to  exist,  but  the  question  now  is.  What  must  be 
the  relative  condition  of  the  two  races  for  the  next 
few  months  ?  And,  What  must  be  the  ultimate  status 
of  the  colored  race  ? 

''  The  negro  is  not  to  blame  for  any  of  the  suffer- 
ings entailed  upon  him  by  this  war.  It  is  not  his 
fault  that  the  children  of  Washington  have  been 
destroying  each  other  in  battle,  nor  can  he  reproach 
himself  with  the  reflection  that  he  has  contributed 
either  by  word  or  deed  to  the  privations  and  suffer- 


Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden  35 

ings  he  is  now  enduring.  He  has  been  docile,  and 
faithful,  and  even  affectionate  towards  his  owners 
for  long  generations ;  and  when  we  add  the  fact  that 
he  is  the  innocent  cause  of  all  this  strife  and  all  this 
bloodshed,  we  perceive  at  once  that  he  has  strong- 
claims  on  the  sympathy  of  every  right  thinking  per- 
son. 

"  Governor  Brownlow,  of  Tennessee,  whose  judg- 
ment in  all  matters  is  entitled  to  respect,  is  in  favor 
of  providing  for  the  colored  race  a  separate  and  ap- 
propriate amount  of  territory,  and  settling  them  do^vn 
permanently  as  a  nation  of  freedmen, — and  there  is 
much  force  and  propriety,  it  seems  to  us,  in  this  sug- 
gestion, for  the  two  races  could  not  well  live  in  har- 
mony together  as  free  races;  but  the  question  still 
presents  itself.  What  must  meanwhile  be  the  condi- 
tion of  the  colored  race  ? 

^'  Thousands  of  these  people  are  leaving  their  own 
homes  and  following  the  Federal  army.  They  are 
crowding  into  our  to^^ms  and  villages,  subsist- 
ing on  government  rations,  contracting  dis- 
eases, and  incurring  fearful  risks  in  their 
morals  and  habits  of  industry.  Many  of  them, 
it  is  true,  are  compelled  to  follow  the  army 
in  order  to  procure  food,  for  the  provisions  on  most 
of  the  farms  have  been  swept  away.  But  our  advice 
to  them  is  to  remain  at  home  and  continue  to  labor 
for  their  old  masters  at  fair  wages,  except  in  those 
cases  in  which  they  feel  that  they  owe  it  to  themselves 
to  seek  new  homes.  In  Maryland,  for  example,  the 
great  bulk  of  these  people  have  remained  at  their 
former  homes,  are  receiving  wages  for  tlieir  work. 


36  Memoiks  of  W.  W.  Holden 

and  are  contented  and  happy.  These  persons  will 
find  that  mere  freedom  will  be  a  curse,  unless  it  is 
followed  by  habits  of  industry  and  sobriety.  The 
government  has  no  idea  of  supplying  them  with  ra- 
tions as  a  permanent  thing.  It  does  so  now,  and  only 
for  a  short  time,  to  keep  them  from  starving.  They 
will  have  to  work,  and  work  hard  for  a  living,  and  we 
warn  them  of  this  in  time. 

^'  If  a  state  convention  should  abolish  slavery,  that 
body  would  most  probably  define  the  relations  be- 
tween the  two  races ;  and  if  the  states  should  adopt 
the  amendment  proposed  by  Congress  abolishing  the 
institution,  the  latter  body  will  define  those  relations. 
Meanwhile  we  say  to  the  colored  people  remain  where 
you  are,  cultivate  habits  of  industry,  preserve  your 
morals  against  the  manifold  temptations  that  will 
beset  you,  and  endeavor  by  your  conduct  to  secure 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  good  people." 

And  having  given  facts  thus  far  up  to  the  time 
Gen.  Sherman  entered  Raleigh,  I  must  now  go  back 
to  January,  1864,  to  an  event  which  shows  the  char- 
acter and  bearing  of  Xorth  Carolina  throughout  the 
entire  struggle.  In  January,  1864,  Gov.  Vance  ap- 
pointed the  Hon.  Edwin  G.  Reade  to  the  Confederate 
State  Senate  from  the  County  of  Person,  to  fill  the 
place  of  Hon.  George  Davis  of  Xew  Hanover  County, 
who  had  been  appointed  by  President  Davis  Attor- 
ney General  of  the  Confederate  States.  Soon  after 
taking  his  seat  Mr.  Reade  delivered  a  speech  reported 
as  follows : 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  37 


"  Senate  of  the  Confedeeate  States, 

Saturday,  Jan.  30th,  1864. 
^^Mr.  Eeade,  of  ^orth  Carolina,  introduced  a  joint 
resolution  of  thanks  to  certain  IvTorth  Carolina  troops 
who  had  re-enlisted  for  the  war,  which  is  as  follows : 

'  The  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  having 
learned  through  the  public  press  of  the  re-enlistment 
for  the  war  of  the  ^orth  Carolina  brigade  in  the 
Army  of  E'orthern  Virginia,  serving  under  General 
Robert  D.  Johnston,  do 

Resolve,  That  the  patriotism  and  spirit  of  the 
N^orth  Carolina  troops,  evinced  by  their  prompt  and 
voluntary  devotion  of  themselves  afresh  to  the  ser- 
vices of  the  country  are  beyond  all  praise  and  deserve 
the  unbounded  gratitude  of  the  government' 

''  In  support  of  the  resolution,  Mr.  Reade  said : 

^  Mr.  President : — It  is  with  much  State  pride  and 
personal  pleasure  that  I  offer  this  resolution  for  the 
consideration  of  Senators,  and  ask  their  favorable 
action. 

'  In  this  great  war  we  need  all  our  strength.  But 
what  is  strength  in  war  ?  It  is  not  the  multitude  of 
faint  hearts  and  nerveless  arms  which  achieve  suc- 
cess; these  are  burdens  rather  than  helps.  It  is 
spirit  that  moves  an  army  and  makes  it  irresistible. 

'  These  troops  have  been  in  service  for  years.  They 
are  scarred  and  worn.  They  are  away  from  their 
homes  where  they  have  much  to  love.  But  they  tarry 
not  for  these.  They  await  not  your  bidding,  but  they 
spring  to  action  as  springs  the  tiger  from  his  lair. 
This,  Senators,  is  strength  in  war. 


38  Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

'  I  would  be  proud  of  them  if  they  were  the  soldiers 
of  any  other  State.  When,  a  few  days  ago,  the  Senator 
from  Tennessee  offered  resolutions  appreciative  of 
like  conduct  on  the  part  of  troops  from  his  State,  my 
affection  ran  out  after  them.  And  I  grew  larger  as 
I  remembered  that  Tennessee  was  Xorth  Carolina's 
daughter,  and  that  i^orth  Carolina,  like  a  mother, 
had  only  allowed  her  queenly  daughter  to  be  a  little 
in  the  front. 

^  The  conduct  of  these  troops,  Senators,  is  in  con- 
sonance with  the  spirit  of  all  the  troops  from  Xorth 
Carolina  during  this  war,  and  of  her  people  at  home 
as  well.  Yet  malicious  rumor  has  thro^vn  the  stain 
of  disloyalty  upon  her  name.  It  matters  nothing 
that  not  a  man  has  staid  at  home  who  was  called  to 
the  field;  il  matters  nothing  that  they  have  swelled 
every  triumph  and  staid  every  reverse;  it_ matters 
nothing  that  every  legitimate  burden  has  been  cheer- 
fully borne  by  her  people;  it_matters  nothing  that 
her  youthful  Executive,  called  from  the  field  to  his 
responsible  position,  has  so  managed  her  affairs,  in- 
ternal and  external,  as  to  have  obtained  the  name 
"  Model  Governor " ;  it  matters  nothing  that  her 
Convention  was  unanimous  and  her  Legislature  prov- 
ident; nothing  matters.  fMalignity  says  she  is  dis- 
loyal, and  disloyal  she  must  be.  I  will  not  make  the 
Senate  the  arena  for  battling  with  this  malignant 
charge  against  Xorth  Carolina.  Her  reputation  is 
very  dear  to  me.  It  can  scarcely  be  less  so  with  you, 
Senators ;  but  that  resolution  depends  not  upon  any 
poor  word  of  mine.     She  calls  up  the  history  of  the 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  39 

past  as  witness  of  what  she  is  now,  and  will  be  here- 
after. 

'  I  do  not  conceal  from  Senators  that  there  is  dissat- 
isfaction in  E^orth  Carolina.  And  the  question  is 
again  and  again  asked,  ''What  does  it  mean?"  It  is 
easy  to  tell  you  what  it  does  not  mean,  and  quite  as 
easy,  but  much  more  tedious,  to  tell  you  what  it  does 
mean.  It  does  not  mean  disloyalty. — It  means  rather 
an  excess  of  loyalty  to  the  State,  without  any  abate- 
ment towards  the  Confederacy. — This  ought  to  be 
satisfactory,  at  least  to  all  outside  of  the  State. 

'  I  will  only  mention  a  few  of  the  annoyances  which 
she  has  suffered.  Her  people  are  sensitive  and  spir- 
ited, as  easily  led  as  a  child,  in  the  right  way,  be- 
cause they  are  a  good  people.  But  against  the  front 
of  offense  she  stands  a  giant  form. 

^  Very  early  in  this  struggle,  an  order  was  sent  to 
IN^orth  Carolina,  which,  so  far  as  as  I  know,  was  sent 
to  nowhere  else,  to  deprive  citizens  of  their  arms, 
''good,  bad  and  indifferent."  I  believe  I  quote  the 
words;  I  am  sure  I  have  the  substance.  This  may 
have  been  all  very  innocent ;  but  the  impression  was 
made,  not  unreasonably,  that  the  purpose  was  to  dis- 
arm her  because  she  was  suspected.  Time  and  again 
her  citizens  have  been  arrested,  without  warrant  and 
without  cause,  and  thrown  into  prisons  in  Hichmond 
and  elsewhere. 

'  The  decsions  of  her  judiciary  have  not  been  re- 
spected. 

'  Many  of  the  offices  in  the  State,  to  which  her  citi- 
zens were  entitled  by  courtesy,  if  not  of  right,  were 
filled  by  obnoxious  strangers. 


40  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdei!^ 

^  Suspicions,  distrusts  and  threats  on  the  part  of  the 
authorities,  have  chafed  her  continually.  And  Sen- 
ators have  doubtless  heard,  as  I  have,  that  it  has 
been  gravely  considered  whether  force  ought  not  to 
be  employed  to  overawe  and  silence  her  people. — Dis- 
trust of  her  has  begotten  distrust  in  her  towards  them, 
and  now  she  is  alarmed  afresh  at  the  dangerous  pow- 
ers which  it  is  proposed  in  .Congress  to  confer. 

'Just  now  a  new  clamor  is  raised  against  the  State, 
because  the  propriety  of  calling  a  Convention  is  be- 
ing discussed.  I  know  nothing  of  that  movement 
except  what  is  before  the  public.  Its  enemies  say  it 
means  mischief;  its  friends  say  it  does  not.  I  sup- 
pose its  friends  ought  to  know  best.  But  however  this 
may  be,  let  me  enquire  when  was  it  ever  before  that 
a  (Convention  in  Xorth  Carolina  was  an  occasion  of 
alarm  to  her  friends.  Was  it  that  first  little  Con- 
vention in  Mecklenburg,  or  was  it  her  last  Conven- 
tion, when  she  unanimously  assumed  the  position  she 
now  holds  ?  I  speak  against  no  party  and  for  no 
party.  I  speak  for  the  State.  I  say  that  whether  she 
call  a  Convention  or  not,  or  whatever  else  she  may  do, 
will  be  so  marked  with  propriety  that  others  in  time 
to  come,  as  in  time  past,  will  evince  their  high  appre- 
ciation of  it,  by  claiming  that  she  was  not  the  first 
to  do  it,  but  that  they  were. 

'Appreciate  North  Carolina,  Senators,  as  I  ask  you 
to  appreciate  the  gallant  bearing  of  these  her  sol- 
diers, and  her  people,  whether  at  home  or  in  the 
field,  will  be  faithful  to  every  pledge  she  ever  gave 
you.'' 

''The  resolution  being  read  the  requisite  niniiber  of 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  41 

times,  was  considered  in  committee  of  the  wliole,  and, 
no  amendment  being  proposed,  was  adopted,  and  or- 
dered to  be  sent  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
On  motion  of  Mr.  Semmes,  the  Senate  adjourned." 

As  I  have  stated.  Gov.  Vance  appointed  Mr.  Reade 
to  the  Confederate  Senate  in  January,  1864.  A  bet- 
ter appointment  could  not  have  been  made.  Mr. 
Read^had  been  reared  a  Whig  of  the  old  Henry  Clay 
school,  like  Gov.  Vance.  In  1861,  after  secession  in 
this  State,  party  names  had  ceased  with  the  exception 
that  a  fragment  of  the  old  Democratic  party  re- 
mained. Mr.  Reade  was  a  Conservative,  as  were  the 
30,000  majority  who  had  in  1862  voted  for  Vance, 
as  against  Johnston.  Mr.  Reade  simply  spoke  forth 
in  his  place  at  Richmond  the  '^words  of  truth  and 
soberness."  It  is  not  true  that  ^orth  Carolina  was 
divided  in  her  resistance  to  the  coercive  policy  of  the 
federal  government,  or  that  any  one  was  disposed  to 
submit  unconditionally  to  obtain  peace,  but  party 
feeling  was  all  the  while  manifesting  itself  with  great 
bitterness,  and  injustice  in  that  fragment  of  the 
so-called  Democratic  party.  It  was  this  fragment 
that  had  produced  the  impression  referred  to  by  Mr. 
Reade,  that  the  Confederate  government  thought  of 
coeercing  the  people  of  North  Carolina.  I  remember 
well  that  in  1861,  I  was  present  at  two  meetings  held 
in  Raleigh  composed  of  the  Conservative  members  of 
the  Convention,  over  which  Ex-Governor  Graham 
presided.  The  first  meeting  was  held  at  my  house. 
It  was  held  with  closed  doors,  because  of  the  bitter 
opposition  of  this  so-called  fragment.     Conservatives 


42  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

were  those  who  had  been  previously  Democrats  or 
Whigs. 

The  great  object  of  the  Conservatives  was  to 
strengthen  on  the  one  hand  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment in  its  effort  to  resist  the  subjugation  of  the 
Southern  States,  and  meanwhile  to  preserve  among 
our  people  the  old  fashioned  principles  of  States 
Rights  and  personal  liberty.  The  first  meeting  was 
held  at  my  house,  and  the  second  at  the  house  of 
Henry  Watkins  Miller.  I  was  present  at  both,  and 
heard  and  saw  all  that  was  said  and  done. 

Mr.  Gilmer,  Ex-Governor  Graham,  Mr.  Robert  P. 
Dick,  Mr.  Miller,  Lieut.  Merritt, — a  young  member 
of  the  bar  from  Chatham  who  afterwards  died  in 
battle  for  the  South — and  others  spoke,  setting  forth 
their  views  as  Conservatives,  as  Confederates,  as  the 
fast  friends  of  civil  liberty  at  home,  whilst  their 
friends  and  brothers  were  fighting  for  liberty  abroad. 
The  Raleigh  Standard  was  the  well-known  organ  of 
all  these  men,  a  paper  which  itself  had  been  the 
means  of  putting  into  the  service  of  the  States  at 
least  10,000  soldiers,  and  which  though  differing 
in  political  sentiment  with  the  administration  at 
Richmond,  was  neverthelesss  true  to  the  Confederate 
cause.  Anyone  who  is  regarded  by  sane  men  as  sane 
as  themselves  would  not  for  a  moment  doubt  the  hon- 
esty or  the  patriotism  of  such  men  as  Badger,  Gra- 
ham, Gilmer,  Bedford  Bro^\^l,  Robert  P.  Dick,  Jo- 
seph S.  Cannon,  or  in  fine  of  the  fifty  members  of  the 
secession  convention  of  1861,  who  were  known  as 
conservatives.  Mr.  Senator  Reade  in  standing  for 
and  speaking  for  the  people  of  the  entire  State,  meant 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  43 

to  include  these  fifty  conservatives,  as  well  as  the 
seventy  members  of  the  same  body,  who  were  called 
Democrats. 

In  1865,  while  I  was  provisional  Governor,  B.  F. 
Moore,  Esq.,  who  was  one  of  my  confidential  friends 
and  advisors,  asked  me  to  obtain  a  pardon  from  the 
President  for  Hon.  William  T.  Dortch,  of  Golds- 
borough.  I  told  Mr.  Moore  that  he  knew  the  instruc- 
tions I  had  received  from  the  President,  not  to  be  too 
forward  in  obtaining  pardons  for  distinguished  per- 
sons like  Mr.  Dortch,  who  had  been  a  Confederate 
Senator,  and  that  I  could  not  obtain  his  pardon  then, 
but  would  as  soon  as  practicable.  The  next  day  Mr, 
Moore  called  again,  and  asked  me  as  a  favor  personal 
to  himself  to  get  the  pardon.  I  told  him  I  would  do 
so,  and  when  I  obtained  it  and  handed  it  to  him  he 
said :  '^  I  could  not  tell  you  before,  but  will  tell  you 
now,  my  reasons  for  asking  for  it.  Mr.  Dortch  was 
my  law  student,  and  I  esteem  him  highly.  He  told 
me  that  Mr.  Davis  had  my  name  and  your  name  and 
the  name  of  the  Hon.  Richard  S.  Donnell  on  his  list 
to  be  arrested  for  disloyalty,  and  that  he  (Mr. 
Dortch)  had  induced  Mr.  Davis  not  to  do  that.  I 
could  not  tell  you  this  as  an  inducement  to  obtain  his 
pardon,  but  I  tell  you  now  as  you  have  given  me  his 
pardon.''  I  state  this  simply  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
and  with  no  j^urpose  to  reflect  on  Mr.  Davis.  He  was 
misled  and  misinformed  by  certain  parties  in  Xorth 
Carolina. 


CHAPTER   III. 

PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  AND  RECON- 
STRUCTION INCIDHNTS. 

SCENES   AT   WASIIINGTOX^   MAY,    1865  PROVISIONAL 

GOVERNOR PARDONS THE  ELECTION  OF  1865 

CRITICISMS    OF   MOORe's    SCHOOL    HISTORY   OF 

NORTH   CAROLINA   ON   AVAR   POLITICS  AND  RECON- 
STRUCTION. 

At  length  the  war  was  over.  Both  sides  after  a 
tremendous  struggle  of  four  years  furled  their  flags, 
and  their  officers  and  soldiers  returned  to  their 
homes.  Thousands  on  thousands  of  brethren  had 
been  slain  and  were  buried  where  they  fell.  The 
l^orthern  soldiers  returned  to  their  homes  which  had 
not  been  trampled  by  armies  or  impoverished  by 
serious  loss  of  property.  The  Southern  soldiers  re- 
^  turned,  stripped  of  all  save  their  honor.  'No  one  sym- 
pathized  more  than  I  did  with  Xorth  Carolina  sol- 
diers. I  had  been  their  friend  throughout  the  entire 
war,  and  bade  them  God-speed  in  renewed  efforts  to 
make  a  living  and  a  name  among  their  neighbors. 

About  the  20th  day  of  May,  1865, 1  was  summoned 
to  Washington  City.  The  call  made  upon  me  by  the 
President  was  totally  unexpected.  He  telegraphed 
me  to  come  to  Washington  at  once,  and  invite  such 
friends  to  accompany  me  as  I  desired.  On  the  same 
day  I  received  the  telegram,  and  almost  the  very  hour, 
Mr.  Eichard  C.  Badger,  the  son  of  Hon.  George  E. 
Badger,  called  upon  me  at  my  house  with  a  letter 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  45 

from  Hon.  Edward  Stanley,  in  which  Mr.  Stanley 
urged  Mr.  Badger  to  see  me,  and  urge  me  to  repair  at 
once  to  Washington.  Mr.  Stanley  believed,  and  so 
stated,  that  I  was  the  best  person,  all  things  consid- 
ered, to  be  appointed  Provisional  Governor  of  North 
Carolina.  I  invited  Messrs.  William  S.  Mason,  Rob- 
ert P.  Dick,  John  G.  Williams,  J.  P.  H.  Puss,  and 
W.  P.  Pichardson  to  go  with  me  to  Washington  City, 
and  obtained  transportation  from  Gen.  Schofield, 
then  in  command  of  the  army.  We  left  for  Washing- 
ington  City.  I  was  very  anxious  to  have  Judge  Ed- 
win G.  Peade  of  the  number  of  friends  who  went  with 
me,  but  he  lived  at  some  distance  from  Paleigh  (Pox- 
boro)  and  the  mails  were  at  that  time  uncertain  and 
unreliable.  I  had  time  therefore  to  invite  only 
Paleigh  men,  and  Mr.  Dick,  of  Greensboro,  on  the 
line  of  the  railroad.  We  traveled  to  Washington  by 
way  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Albemarle  canal  to  E^or- 
folk,  from  thence  to  Baltimore  and  Washington.  We 
saw  President  Johnson  first  in  a  large  room  in  the 
Treasury  building.  He  had  not  then  occupied  the 
White  House.  A  few  days  afterwards  we  saw  him 
in  the  White  House.  We  also  met  Gov.  Vance,  who  . 
was  a  prisoner,  and  Ex-Governor  Swain,  Bartholo- 
mew F.  Moore,  and  William  Eaton,  Esq.'s,  who  were 
there  to  see  the  President.  Just  before  I  started  from 
Paleigh  Gen.  Schofield  dropped  me  a  note  and  asked 
me  if  I  objected  to  granting  transportation  to  Swain,  -^ 
Moore,  and  Eaton.    I  replied  I  did  not. 

I  did  not  when  in  Washington  call  to  see  Gov.   =- 
Vance.     I  thought  if  I  did  it  might  look  like  an 
assumption  of  superiority  over  him,  he  a  prisoner, 


46  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

and  I  a  free  citizen,  but  I  sent  him  word  by  Mr. 
Moore  and  Col.  Wheeler  who  called  upon  him,  that 
I  s^Tupathized  with  him,  and  would  be  glad  to  loan 
him  funds  if  he  needed  them.  Meanwhile  I  ap- 
pointed Dr.  Kobert  J.  Powell,  formerly  of  Rich- 
mond County,  State  Agent,  to  facilitate  my  corres- 
pondence with  the  President,  to  represent  Xorth  Car- 
olina in  that  capacity  at  Washington.  Among  other 
things  I  asked  Dr.  Powell  what  he  thought  would  be 
done  with  the  Southern  Governors  then  in  the  old 
Capitol  Prison.  Feeling  at  Washington  was  then 
intense  against  the  South.  I  asked  especially  what 
he  thought  would  be  the  fate  of  Gov.  Vance.     He 

—  said  he  thought  they  would  all  be  hanged.  I  replied : 
'^  Dr.  Powell,  that  Avill  never  do.  If  that  is  done  we 
cannot    reconstruct    nor    restore    Xorth    Carolina. 

*-  Vance  stood  and  stands  for  our  people  as  Davis  did 
for  the  entire  South.  Please  keep  me  informed  on 
these  matters  constantly.  If  there  is  danger  of  what 
you  say,  I  will  return  here  at  once  and  appeal  to 
the  President."  I  would  not,  of  course,  have  served 
if  the  President  had  allowed  these  things  to  be  done. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  July,  1865,  Col.  Tod 
R.  Caldwell  told  me  with  much  concern  that  he  had 
just  passed  through  Statesville  from  the  west,  and 
heard  Mrs.  Vance  was  very  sick,  and  at  the  point  of 
death,  and  asked  me  to  telegraph  President  Johnson 
to  release  Governor  Vance  to  return  home  to  his  wife. 
I  telegraphed  the  President  at  once,  and  in  two  hours 
he  replied :  "  Ex-Governor  Vance  has  been  released, 
and  is  on  his  way  home."  Twelve  months  afterwards 
I  went  to  Washington  to  see  thePresident.    Governor 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  47 

Vance  went  at  the  same  time  to  renew  his  parole.   Of 
course  he  was  never  tried.  ^ 

I  was  in  Washington  seven  or  eight  days,  and  was  («^ 
the  first  Provisional  Governor  appointed.  At  the  first  \ 
interview  we  had  with  the  President,  there  were  pres- 
ent, altogether  at  his  request,  all  the  E^orth  Caro- 
linians in  the  city,  his  purpose  being  to  consult  them 
as  to  who  was  the  proper  person  to  be  appointed  Gov- 
ernor of  N^orth  Carolina,  whose  duty  it  would  be  to 
take  steps  to  restore  the  State  to  the  Union.  There 
were  present  on  that  day  Messrs.  Robert  P.  Dick, 
William  S.  Mason,  J.  P.  H.  Russ,  W.  R.  Richardson, 
John  G.  Williams,  Ex-Gov.  Swain,  William  Eaton, 
Jr.,  B.  F.  Moore,  Col.  John  H."Wheeler,  and  Dr.  R. 
J.  Powell.  I  arose  with  Ex-Gov.  Swain  and  walked 
out  while  the  President  was  taking  the  opinions  of 
those  present.  Gov.  Swain  appealed  to  me  in  the 
most  earnest  tones  not  to  accept  the  place  of  Provi- 
sional Governor.  Thinking  he  had  some  apprehen- 
sion as  to  the  University,  I  said  to  him :  '^  Governor,  ^ 
I  have  always  been  a  firm  friend  to  the  University, 
though  myself  not  a  graduate  as  you  were  not.  I  am 
not  yet  assured  of  my  appointment.  I  may  be,  or 
I  may  not  be,  but  in  any  event  I  am  your  friend,  and 
the  friend  of  Chapel  Hill."  We  had  walked  from  the 
White  House  to  a  point  overlooking  the  statue  of 
Gen.  Jackson,  and  when  we  returned,  as  we  did 
slowly,  to  where  the  President  and  his  friends  were, 
it  was  announced  that  I  had  been  appointed  Provi- 
sional Governor.  Mr.  Moore  and  Mr.  Eaton  did  not 
vote.  They  said  they  did  not  come  there  for  that 
purpose. 


48  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

.  j  I  was  appointed  Provisional  Governor  by  the  Pres- 
I  ident  on  the  29th  day  of  May,  1865.  The  President 
directed  me  to  provide  a  government  for  the  State. 
I  appointed  such  state  officers  as  were  needed.  I  ap- 
pointed seven  judges  of  the  Superior  Courts,  also 
magistrates  or  Justices  of  the  Peace,  town  officers, 
county  officers,  corporation  officers,  etc.  I  issued 
proclamations  providing  for  the  election  of  members 
of  a  State  Convention,  one  for  every  member  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  in  all  one  hundred  and  twenty 
(120)  ;  also  after  this,  for  the  election  of  members 
of  the  Legislature,  Senate  and  House.  I  appointed 
also  State  officers  to  aid  me  in  mv  work  as  follows: 
Aids,  Joseph  S.  Cannon,  Eugene  Grissom,  Tod.  R. 
Caldwell;  Private  Secretary,  Lewis  Hanes;  Clerks, 
Eichard  C.  Badger,  William  H.  Bagley,  S.  M.  Par- 
rish ;  State  Treasurer,  Jonathan  Worth ;  Secretary 
of  State,  Robert  W.  Best.  Donald  W.  Bain,  Esq., 
the  chief  clerk  under  the  former  Treasurer,  was  in 
office,  and  remained  until  appointed  by  Mr.  Worth. 
The  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  Su]:)erior 
Court  Judges  to  ride  the  seven  circuits  of  the  State : 
Messrs.  David  A.  Barnes,  Edward  J.  Warren,  Daniel 
G.  Fowle,  Ralph  P.  Buxton,  Robert  B.  Gilliam,  Ed- 
win G.  Reade,  Anderson  Mitchell.  Sion  H.  Rogers 
w^as  appointed  Attorney  General.-^ 

^  President  Johnson  asked  me  while  in  Washington  to  furnish 
names  for  various  (federal)  offices  in  the  State.  I  pavo  him  Rob- 
ert I'.  Dick  to  l)e  appointed  U.  S.  District  .Tudg(\  William  S. 
Mason  to  be  appointed  District  Attorney  ;  W.  R.  Richardson  to  be 
appointed  Postmaster  at  Raleigh,  and  John  (J.  Williams,  National 
Depositary  of  Lands.  We  went  to  the  office  of  the  Attorney  (ion- 
eral  to  see  what  oath  we  would  have  to  take.  We  were  tendered 
the  Iron  Clad  Test  Oath.  Neither  of  us  could  take  it,  for  we  had 
all  of  us.  more  or  less,  aided  the  rebellion  ;  indeed  I  took  no  oath 
^  as  Provisional  (Jovernor 'until  August,  when  I  took  the  Amnesty 
^  Oath.     Mr.   Johnson  afterwards  tendered  me  the  office  of  Minister 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  49 

I  wrote  the  following  editorial  for  the  Standard  of 
the  10th  of  June,  1865,  about  Jonathan  Worth: — 

'^  It  gives  us  much  pleasure  to  be  able  to  announce 
that  Jonathan  Worth,  Esq.,  has  consented  to  accept 
the  office  of  Treasurer  and  Property  Agent  for  the 
State.  In  addition  to  the  duties  of  Treasurer,  he  will 
be  charged  with  collecting  and  selling  all  the  property 
belonging  to  the  State — cotton,  turpentine,  and  every 
other  article  of  state  property — and  to  investigate  the 
condition  of  State  finances,  the  condition  of  banks, 
railroads,  asylums,  and  other  public  corporations. 
The  office  is  a  very  important  one,  and  it  will  give 
the  citizens  of  the  entire  State  great  satisfaction  to 
know  that  Mr.  Worth  is  to  discharge  its  duty.  His 
judgment,  energy,  and  integrity  mark  him  as  the 
man  who  will  perform  them  for  the  best  interest  of 
the  State." 

And  in  my  first  proclamation  to  the  people  of  the 
State  I  used  the  following  language  in  regard  to  the 
colored  people : — 

''To  the  colored  people  of  the  State  I  would  say, 
you  are  now  free.  Providence  has  willed  that  the 
very  means  adopted  to  render  your  servitude  perpet- 
ual, should  be  His  instruments  for  releasing  you  from 
bondage.  It  now  remains  for  you,  aided  as  you  will 
be  by  the  superior  intelligence  of  the  white  race,  and 
cheered  by  the  sympathy  of  all  good  people,  to  decide 


Plenipotentiary  to  a  South  American  Republic,  San  Salvador.  But 
Mr.  Summer,  who  was  then  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Affairs,  declined  to  present  my  name,  and  I  was  not  confirmed. 

Afterwards  while  in  Washington  City  in  1871  General  Grant 
asked  me  to  call  on  Mr.  B^'ish,  Secretary  of  State.  Mr.  Fish 
tendered  me  my  choice  of  the  mission  to  Peru  or  to  the  Argentine 
Confederation.  I  declined  both.  I  did  not  wish  to  leave  North 
Carolina. 

4 


50  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  IIoldex 

whether  the  freedom  thus  suddenly  bestowed  upon 
you  will  be  a  blessing  to  you  or  a  source  of  injury. 
Your  race  has  been  depressed  by  your  condition  of 
slavery,  and  by  the  legislation  of  your  former  masters 
for  two  hundred  years.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that 
you  can  comprehend  and  appreciate  as  they  should  be 
comprehended  by  a  self-governing  people,  the  wise 
provisions  and  limitations  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
laAvs ;  or  that  you  can  now  have  that  knowledge  of 
public  affairs  which  is  necessary  to  qualify  you  to  dis- 
charge all  the  duties  of  citizens.  Xo  people  has  ever 
yet  bounded  at  once  into  the  full  enjoyment  of  the 
right  of  self-government.  But  you  are  free,  in 
common  with  all  our  people,  and  you  have 
the  same  right,  regulated  by  law,  that  others 
have,  to  enter  upon  the  pursuits  of  prosperity  and 
happiness.  You  should  henceforth  sacredly  observe 
the  marriage  relation,  and  you  should  provide  for 
your  offspring.  You  can  now  not  only  learn  to  read 
yourselves,  as  some  of  you  have  been  able  to  do  here- 
tofore, but  you  can  instruct  others,  and  procure  in- 
struction from  others  for  yourselves  and  your  chil- 
dren, without  fear  of  punishment.  But  to  be  pros- 
perous and  happy  you  must  labor,  not  merely  when 
you  feel  like  it,  or  for  a  scanty  support,  but  industri- 
ously and  steadily,  with  a  view  to  making  and  laying 
up  something  for  yourselves  and  your  families.  If 
you  are  idle  you  will  become  vicious  and  worthless ;  if 
vicious  and  worthless  you  will  have  no  friends,  and 
will  at  last  perish.  'In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt 
you  eat  bread  all  the  days  of  thy  life.'  The  same 
Providence  that  has  bestowed  freedom  upon  you,  has 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  51 

told  you  that  diligence  in  business  is  required  of  all 
his  creatures;  and  you  cannot  expect  that  your  race 
will  escape  ultimate  extinction,  if  you  wilfully  vio- 
late or  disregard  this,  one  of  His  great  commands. 
Freedom  does  not  mean  that  one  may  do  as  he  pleases,  •» 
but  that  everyone  may,  by  industry,  frugality,  and 
temperance,  improve  his  conditions  and  enjoy  the 
fruits  of  his  own  labors,  so  long  as  he  obeys  the  law. 
I  have  no  prejudice  against  you.  On  the  contrary,  ^ 
while  I  am  a  white  man,  and  while  my  lot  is  with  my  '^ 
own  color,  yet  I  sympathize  with  you  as  the  weaker 
race;  and  I  cannot  forget  that  during  this  rebellion 
many  of  you  fought  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union, 
and  that  those  of  you  who  remained  at  home  in  the 
then  slave  holding  States,  were  for  the  most  part, 
docile  and  faithful,  and  made  no  attempt  by  force  of 
arms  to  gain  even  their  freedom.  I  will  see  to  it,  as  ^ 
far  as  I  can,  that  you  have  your  liberty ;  that  you  arer^ 
protected  in  your  property  and  persons ;  and  that  you 
are  paid  your  wages.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  will 
set  my  pace  against  those  of  you  who  are  idle  and  dis-P 
sipated,  and  prompt  punishment  will  be  inflicted  for 
any  breach  of  the  peace  or  violation  of  the  law.  In 
fine,  I  will  be  your  friend  as  long  as  you  are  true  to 
yourselves,  and  obedient  to  the  law,  and  as  long  as  you 
shall  labor,  no  matter  how  feebly,  if  honestly  and 
earnestly,  to  improve  your  condition.  It  is  my  duty, 
as  far  as  I  may,  to  render  the  government  a  '  terror 
to  evil  doers,  and  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well ' — and 
this  I  will  endeavor  to  do  in  relation  to  the  whole 
people  of  the  State  of  Korth  Carolina,  Svithout  fear, 
favor  or  affection,  reward,  or  hope  of  reward.'  " 


62  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holde]!^ 

At  a  union  meeting  held  in  Raleigh  before  we  left 
for  Washington  I  addressed  a  large  body  of  people. 
Among  other  things  looking  to  reconstruction  I 
said : — 

' 'Prevention  of  secession  was  absolutely  impossible 
in  this  State.  I  Avith  others  signed  the  ordinance  of 
secession  under  the  force  of  unavoidable  circum- 
stances. Union  men,  bowed  down  and  stricken  in 
spirit.,  silently  acquiesced,  while  secessionists  greeted 
the  act  with  hats  off  and  hurrahs,  the  firing  of  canon 
and  the  ringing  of  bells. 

^'  This  war  has  resulted  in  the  utter  extinction  of 
African  slavery.  This  is  an  accomplished  fact.  There 
can  and  will  be  no  question  about  it.  It  remains  for 
the  people  of  this  State  in  iConvention  and  by  legis- 
lative action  to  define  the  status  of  the  emancipated 
race.  I,  for  one,  have  no  fear  in  this  regard.  I  am 
willing  to  see  the  alphabet,  the  Bible  and  the  school 
book  placed  in  their  hands,  and  to  recognize  among 
them  the  marriage  relations  heretofore  so  culpably 
disregarded.  The  extent  of  their  further  elevation 
belongs  legitimately  to  the  governing  race. 

''In  my  opinion  this  emancipated  race  must  have, 
to  a  large  extent  the  sjTiipathy,  the  aid  and  support, 
of  the  white  race,  without  w^hich  they  would  be  ex- 
tinct. 

"  We  are  financially  ruined.  The  bonded  debt  of 
the  State  prior  to  secession  was  $11,000,000  and 
this  has  been  since  increased  by  an  indebtedness  of  at 
least  $40,000,000.00,  incurred  by  the  State  and  coun- 
ties during  the  war.  Of  the  banks  some  are  probably 
bankrupt  while  others  arc  materially  crippled.     If 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  53 


we  add  to  this  the  loss  of  fifty  thousand  men  who  have  "  < 
been  slain  in  battle  or  have  died  in  hospitals  and  the 
devastation  of  a  large  portion  of  the  State  by  both 
armies,  no  little  nerve  is  required  to  meet  the  future. 
I  believe,  however,  that  the  old  government,  the  pa- 
rental government,  will  be  kind.  It  devolves  on  the 
Assembly  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  the  State  and 
to  encourage  the  people  to  resume  their  wonted  pur- 
suits. 

"And  now,  fellow  citizens,  what  remains  but  to 
address  ourselves  to  our  duties  as  loyal  citizens  and 
to  improve  and  build  up  our  native  State  ?  At  the 
formation  of  the  Federal  constitution  N'orth  Carolina 
had,  as  she  has  now,  the  same  area  of  territory,  50,- 
000  square  miles,  with  the  State  of  E'ew  York,  and 
the  same  representation  in  Congress,  fifteen.  In 
1860  JSTew  York  had  thirty-six  members  of  Congress 
and  E'orth  Carolina  eight.  To  what  was  this  differ-  ^ 
ence  to  be  attributed  but  to  the  retarding,  dwarfing 
influence  of  slavery  ?  With  this  incubus  removed,  let 
us  start  anew  in  the  career  of  prosperity.  Our  lati- 
tude is  the  best  on  the  globe  and  we  have  a  climate 
capable  of  producing  nearly  every  article  produced 
in  any  other  state.  We  have  a  long  sweep  of  seacoast, 
and  one  of  the  best  harbors  on  the  Atlantic  front,  and 
from  E"ash  County  to  the  Tennessee  line  our  water 
power  is  inexhaustible.  We  grow  all  the  cereals  be- 
sides cotton  and  tobacco :  and  the  bowels  of  the  earth 
are  stored  with  iron,  coal,  marl,  copper,  marble,  gold, 
silver,  and  precious  stones.  We  have  vast  forests  of 
the  most  valuable  timber  and  large  resources  of  naval 
stores.     In  a  word,  though  greatly  impoverished  by 


J 


54  Memoiks  of  W.  W.  Holden 

the  war,  we  have  all  the  resources  and  all  the  ele- 
ments of  a  great  State.  Let  us  go  to  work  to  develop 
these  resources.  We  need  capital  and  labor.  To 
our  brethren  of  the  Xorth  and  East  and  West  we  say, 
come  over  and  help  us.  Bring  your  capital,  your 
muscle,  your  intelligence,  your  industry,  your  in- 
genuity, and  settle  among  us.  The  way  is  now  open, 
and  with  us  and  our  children  you  can  purchase  and 
build,  and  plant  and  reap,  and  repose  and  labor,  and 
live  and  die,  leaving  your  possessions  an  assured  in- 
heritance, for  I  tell  you  that  the  stars  in  that  banner 
will  never  go  out,  and  the  sun  of  American  liberty 
w^ill  never  go  down.  Our  banner  staff  is  at  last  so 
firmly  planted  that  no  convulsion  which  did  not  split 
the  earth  could  upheave  it  from  its  place. 

''May  our  children  and  our  children's  children  for 
a  thousand  generations,  walk  and  be  happy  in  the 
light  of  that  glorious  ensign ;  and  may  they,  as  we  do 
now,  on  the  distant  shores  of  all  coming  time,  by  the 
waters  of  the  two  great  oceans,  by  the  lakes  of  the 
ISTorth,  and  amid  the  central  portions  of  the  conti- 
nent, and  far  towards  the  South,  where  tropic  groves 
perfume  the  breath  of  morn,  repeat  with  the  same 
heartfelt,  impassioned,  holy  zeal,  those  thrilling 
words  of  Mr.  Webster; — 

*•  When  my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold,  for  the 
last  time,  the  sun  in  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him  shin- 
ing on  the  broken  and  dishonored  fragments  of  a  once 
glorious  Union;  on  States  dissevered,  discordant, 
belligerent;  on  a  land  rent  with  civil  feuds,  or 
drenched,  it  may  be,  in  fraternal  blood !  Let  their 
last  feeble  and  lingering  glance,  rather,  behold  the 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  55 

gorgeous  ensign  of  the  republic,  now  known  and  hon- 
ored throughout  the  earth,  still  full  high  advanced, 
its  arms  and  trophies  streaming  in  their  original 
lustre,  not  a  stripe  erased  or  polluted,  nor  a  single 
star  obscured,  bearing  for  its  motto  no  such  miserable 
interrogatory  as,  What_is.all  this  worth?  ^or  those 
other  words  of  delusion  and  folly.  Liberty  first,  and 
Union  afterwards :  but  every  where,  spread  all 
over  in  characters  of  living  light,  blazing  on  all 
its  ample  folds,  as  they  float  over  the  sea  and  over 
the  land,  and  in  every  wind  under  the  whole  heavens, 
the  other  sentiment,  dear  to  every  true  American 
heart — Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  on&J 
and  inseparable !'  '' 

Before  I  left  Washington  I  had  several  conversa- 
tions with  the  President.  Generally  Mr.  Dick  was 
with  me.  The  President  had  his  Private  Secretary, 
Gen.  Massey,  read  to  us  his  proclamation,  he  com- 
menting paragraph  by  paragraph,  asking  our  opin- 
ion as  the  Secretary  read.  Mr.  Dick  and  myself 
talked  to  him  very  plainly  and  courteously.  He  sdid 
to  us  he  expected  to  confiscate  the  estates  of  the  large  % 
slave  owners,  who  were  traitors  and  proscribed,  and 
divide  them  among  the  wool  hat  boys  of  the  South,  * 
who  had  been  impoverished  and  had  been  compelled 
to  fight  for  slavery  against  their  will.  Mr.  Dick  and 
myself  remonstrated  against  this  in  earnest  terms.  ^ 
We  begged  him  to  be  as  forbearing  and  as  generous 
as  possible.  He  said  he  would  be,  and  especially 
when  asked  by  the  proscribed  classes,  of  whom  there 
were  fourteen  in  the  proclamation,  for  their  pardons, 


56  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

he  would  give  immediate  attention,  and  pardon  where 
he  could.  He  said  though,  ''Gentlemen,  treason  must 
be  made  odious,  and  coming  generations  ought  \0 
know  it  and  profit  by  it/' 

Mr.  Moore  was  also,  as  I  know,  very  earnest  and 
candid  in  his  talk  with  the  President,  and  concurred 
with  us  in  urging  on  the  President  forbearance  and 
kindness  toward  the  Southern  States. 

The    President     said     that     he     would     give     to 

»  me  for  Xorth  Carolina  all  the  war  j^roperty  that  was 
in  the  hands  of  Gov.  Vance.  This  included  cotton, 
naval  stores,  tobacco  and  the  like.  The  net  results 
of  this  gift  of  the  President  to  his  native  State  was 

-^  $150,000,  collected  and  realized  by  Treasurer  Worth 
in  the  State  Treasury,  leaving  when  I  retired  from 
office  on  the  29th  day  of  December,  18G5,  the  sum  of 
$40,000  in  the  hands  of  Hon.  Kemp  Battle,  the  new 
Treasurer  who  succeeded  Treasurer  Worth. 

^      I  administered  the  amnesty  oath  to  all  the  people 

of  the  State,  and  called  a  Convention,  and  also  the 

Legislature,    both    of    Avhich  sat    during  the    seven 

^   jiO     months  of  my  j^rovisional  governorship,  and  paid  all 

expenses,  including  the  seven  judges  heretofore  men- 

-,  tioned.  And  this  President  Johnson  did  for  no  other 
State.  In  addition  to  this  he  allowed  me  $7,000 
from  the  United  States  Treasury  to  cover  the  expenses 
of  my  office. 

Mr.  Seward  asked  me  in  his  presence  what  the 
salary  of  Governor  in  my  State  was.  I  told  him  it 
was  $3,000,  but  did  not  mention  the  fact  that  I  would 
have  a  house  to  live  in.  He  therefore  allowed  me  at 
the  rate  of  $3,000  a  year  for  seven  months,  and  I 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  57 


have  never  received  anything  for  house  rent,  as  al- 
lowed by  the  law  of  this  State. 

Mr.  Seward  also  asked  me  about  Mr.  Badger,  ivvl 
his  boys  who  had  been  in  the  army,  and  were  then 
prisoners  of  war.  He  spoke  of  him  very  kindly,  anJ 
said  he  was  facilitating  the  return  of  his  sons  to  their 
homes.  He  said :  ^^What  do  you  think  ?  One  of  his 
sons  who  has  a  way  of  thinking  for  himself,  refused 
to  take  the  oath.  I  told  the  officer  it  made  no  odds 
but  turn  him  loose,  I  would  not  stand  on  that  and 
keep  him  from  his  father.'^  I  suppose  that  was  Ed- 
ward, now  dead.  Some  months  previous  to  this  Mr. 
Badger's  friends  had  procured  the  election  of  his  son, 
Eichard,  to  be  chief  clerk  of  the  Senate,  in  order,  as 
Mr.  Badger  was  paralyzed  and  comparatively  help- 
less, his  son  Richard  might  be  with  him  at  home. 

On  my  return  from  Washington  City  I  was  closely 
and  constantly  engaged,  and  found  I  had  undertaken 
a  very  heavy  task  indeed.  I  had  able  assistants  who 
helped  me  very  much,  but  I  had  to  conceive,  and 
plan,  and  do  everything  in  the  way  of  reconstructing 
the  State.  For  the  first  months  I  had  not  less  than 
sezenty-five  visitors  every  day,  which  engaged  my  at- 
tention for  hours,  for  the  most  part  of  the  time,  in 
fact.  I  had  to  provide  books  with  the  Amnesty  oaths 
for  all  the  counties,  to  appoint  persons  in  various 
counties  to  administer  those  oaths,  to  obtain  horses 
and  mules  for  applicants  by  applying  to  the  military, 
and  settle  disputes  between  men  in  regard  to  prop- 
erty of  various  kinds,  to  correspond  on  matters  of 
business  which  required  attention,  and  in  all  respects 
to  work,  work,  work. 


58  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

I  received  every  day  a  large  number  of  applica- 
tions for  pa^dori  which  I  read  carefully.  I  was  the 
medium  through  which  these  applications  went  to 
the  President,  and  my  duty  was  to  mark  them 
Granted,  Postponed,  or  Rejected.  Not  that  I  did 
that,  but  they  were  thus  marked  for  the  President. 
It  was  with  him  to  grant,  postpone,  or  reject  them. 
During  my  time  of  seven  months  about  twelve  hun- 
dred pardons  (1200)  as  well  as  I  recollect,  were  thus 
obtained  from  the  President.  I  asked  him  during 
all  this  time  to  reject  but  four;  some  were  postponed, 
and  many  granted.  These  pardons  were  recorded  in 
a  book  marked  '^Pardons"  by  Mr.  S.  M.  Parish,  a 
good  scribe.    I  left  the  book  in  the  Executive  office. 

About  the  middle  of  my  term,  say  in  August,  Ex- 
Gov.  Graham  came  to  Raleigh.  I  was  sick  at  the 
time,  confined  to  my  house.  I  did  not  see  him.  He 
filed  in  my  office  his  application  for  pardon  addressed 
to  the  President.  When  I  got  back  to  my  office  I 
read  his  application  carefully,  and  was  pleased  with 
it.  It  was  an  able  and  truthful  paper.  I  rose  up 
from  my  place  in  the  office  and  approached  Maj. 
Bagley,  who  was  pardon  clerk,  and  asked  him  to  en- 
dorse Ex-Gov.  Graham's  paper,  ''His  pardon  is  to 
be  granted  by  the  President  at  once."  Col.  Cannon, 
one  of  my  aids,  who  Avas  standing  by,  said  to  me, 
"Governor,  have  you  seen  the  Xew  York  Herald  of 
this  morning?"  I  said,  "l^o,  what  of  it?"  He  said: 
"The  Herald  says,  'Gov.  Graham  has  been  pardoned 
already,  and  you  are  engaged  in  pardoning  a  great 
many  distinguished  unpardoned  rebels.'  I  would 
advise  you  to  send  on  the  paper,  and  mark  it  con- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  59 


tinued,  and  in  a  few  weeks  write  to  the  i'resident  and 
ask  him  to  send  the  pardon."  Colonel  Cannon  and 
Maj.  Bagley  were  both  old  line  Whigs,  or  had  been, 
and  both  devoted  friends  of  Gov.  Graham,  as  I  was. 
I  took  their  advice  and  continued  his  case.  They  ad- 
vised me  to  pursue  this  course  and  not  grant  the  par- 
don immediately,  lest  the  radicals  ^orth  should  com- 
plain and  lose  confidence  in  the  President. 

In  the  course  of  a  week  or  so,  being  still  feeble  on 
account  of  my  hard  labor,  I  went  to  Kittrell  Springs 
and  there  saw  Mr.  Thomas  Webb.  In  the  course  of 
conversation  with  him  I  said,  ''I  hope  Ex-Gov.  Gra- 
ham will  soon  have  his  pardon  and  that  he  can  then 
enter  public  life  and  be  of  great  service  to  us."  On 
my  return  to  Raleigh  I  found  he  had  written  a  com- 
munication in  the  HiUshorough  Recorder  assailing 
the  constitutionality  of  an  act  of  Congress.  The 
communication  referred  to  w^as  published  in  the 
HiUshorough  Recorder  and  Raleigh  Sentinel  and  of 
course  excited  attention.  We  were  then  under  mil- 
itary rule,  and  it  was  therefore  not  proper  that  an 
unpardoned  person  asking  for  pardon  should  write 
in  that  way  over  his  own  name.^ 

Meanwhile,  the  Hon.  Josiah  Turner  called  on  me 
at  my  office,  and  had  a  long,  warm  conversation  with 
me  in  regard  to  his  pardon,  and  that  of  Ex-Gov.  Gra- 
ham. I  told  Mr.  Turner  I  could  not  tell  him  what 
endorsement  I  had  made  on  his  application,  or  on  the 
application  of  Gov.   Graham;   that  they  were  both 

^The  article  of  Gov.  Graham  was  a  criticism  of  the  expediency 
of  applying  the  "Iron  Clad  Oath"  of  1862  to  the  Congressmen  and 
Senators  elected  in  the  South :  he  also  questioned  the  constitu- 
tionality of  the  measure.     See  Sentinel^  Oct.  16,  1865. 


60  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holder 

leading  public  men,  and  it  was  not  my  habit  to  give 
information  of  that  kind;  but  would  tell  Iiim  of  one 
case  of  a  private  citizen  and  what  I  had  done.  I 
said:  "  Sir,  jou  wrote  your  father's  application  for 
pardon.  He  o^vned  a  large  amount  of  land,  he  was 
no  doubt  apprehensive  that  it  might  be  confiscated. 
You  made  him  say  that  if  he  had  been  a  young  man 
he  would  have  shouldered  his  musket  and  fought  for 
the  South.  I  feared  this  expression  might  move  the 
President  to  refuse  his  pardon,  whereupon  I  made  a 
note  of  it,  that  your  father  was  an  old  man  and  had 
been  a  Henry  Clay  Whig,  and  that  the  President 
might  overlook  the  expression  and  send  the  pardon. 
I  received  the  pardon  by  return  mail,  and  sent  it  to 
your  father  at  Hillsborough."  I  found  it  impossible 
to  satisfy  Mr.  Turner,  and  he  left  my  office  evidently 
dissatisfied.  About  this  time  Mr.  'rurner  made  a 
speech  in  Raleigh.  I  did  not  hear  him.  The  speech 
was  understood  to  be  against  me,  and  my  policy  of 
reconstruction.  Under  all  these  circumstances  it  was 
not  to  be  reasonably  expected  that  I  would  at  that 
time  write  to  the  President  to  forward  either  of  these 
pardons.  I  had  the  greatest  respect  for  Governor 
Graham,  and  did  not  intend  to  be  in  the  way  of  his 
pardon.  If  he  had  come  to  Raleigh  again,  and  the 
whole  matter  could  have  been  explained  between  us, 
I  would  no  doubt  have  written  to  the  President  and 
obtained  his  pardon. 

An  old  and  esteemed  friend  of  mine,  now  dead, 
Council  Wooten,  of  Lenoir  County,  called  on  me  sev- 
eral times  for  his  pardon.  I  put  him  off,  but  having 
heard  at  last  from  his  friend  and  neighbors  in  rela- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  61 

tion  to  his  application  and  his  merits  I  obtained  his 
pardon. 

I  will  make  this  statement  also  in  relation  to  Gov. 
Bragg.  I  had  marked  his  application  to  be  continued, 
as  Gov.  Graham's  was  marked.  A  package  contain- 
ing a  number  of  pardons  was  received  in  my  ofl&ce  by 
express,  and  Col.  Cannon  opened  it,  and  much  to  his 
surprise  he  found  Gov.  Bragg's  pardon.  He  said, 
''  You  marked  his  application  to  be  continued."  I 
said,  ''I  did."  He  then  removed  it,  and  put  it  in  his 
drawer  in  my  room.  In  a  few  days  Gov.  Bragg  called 
for  his  pardon.  The  clerks  in  the  office  of  the  Pri- 
vate Secretary  said  it  was  not  there.  In  a  few  days 
Dr.  Powell,  State  Agent,  who  handled  these  pardons, 
came  to  Kaleigh  and  asked  for  Gov.  Bragg's  pardon. 
I  told  him  the  facts.  He  said  the  President  told  him 
the  pardon  had  vested,  and  I  might  therefore  just  as 
well  give  it  to  Gov.  Bragg.  Dr.  Powell  then  said 
that  he  did  not  know  it  was  Gov.  Bragg,  but  thought 
it  was  plain  Thomas  Bragg.  I  told  him  I  was  not 
disposed  to  treat  Gov.  Bragg  unkindly,  but  he  had 
not  been  to  see  me  since  I  was  Governor,  but  if  he 
would  call  on  the  day  I  retired  from  office  I  would  ^ 
hand  him  his  pardon  myself.  Gov.  Bragg  called  on 
that  day,  the  29th  Dec,  1865,  and  I  handed  him  his 
pardon. 

There  were  two  persons,  possessed  each  of  large 
means,  who  obtained  their  pardons  from  the  Presi- 
dent directly  when  I  had  not  consented  to  it,  and  the 
President,  when  informed  by  Dr.  Powell  of  the  fact, 
telegraphed  authorizing  me  to  tax  each  one  of  these 
persons  for  thus  obtaining  pardons  $10,000  each  by 


62  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

way  of  punishment,  which  of  course  I  declined  to  do. 
One  day  toward  the  close  of  my  term  Col.  Tod  R. 
Caldwell,  who  had  lately  been  to  Hillsborough,  said 
to  me  that  Mr.  Paul  C.  Cameron  and  his  friends 
were  very  much  concerned  about  his  application  for 
pardon.  I  told  Col.  Caldwell  that  the  President  was 
not  disposed  to  favor  applications  for  conspicuous 
persons  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  rebellion.  I 
could  not,  therefore,  recommend  Mr.  Cameron's  par- 
don just  then.  He  said  Mr.  Cameron  was  in  town, 
and  out  in  the  passage  of  the  Capitol.  He  said  he 
was  there  in  attendance  on  the  Episcopal  Conven- 
tion. I  asked  him  to  request  Mr.  Cameron  to  come 
in.  He  did  so,  and  I  received  him  very  politely  in- 
deed. I  told  him  what  I  had  just  said  to  Col.  Cald- 
well, and  furthermore  I  had  no  apprehension  of  the 
confiscation  of  his  property.  This  did  not  seem  to 
satisfy  him,  and  I  at  last  said,  "Mr.  Cameron,  I  will 
obtain  your  pardon  from  the  President."  He  seemed 
much  gratified  at  what  I  said,  and  said  to  me,  "Gov- 
ernor, please  bear  in  mind  that  my  father-in-law, 
Judge  Puffin,  who  is  now  an  old  man,  wishes  to  know 
before  he  dies  how  much  he  is  worth."  I  replied: 
"Mr.  Cameron,  I  am  glad  you  have  mentioned  Judge 
Puffin.  He  and  Gov.  Morehead  stood  in  the  Peace 
Conference  like  rocks  for  the  Union.  I  will  send 
your  application  today,  and  at  the  same  time  ask  the 
President  to  send  pardons  to  Judge  Puffin  and  Gov- 
ernor Morehead."  I  have  no  doubt  the  pardons  of 
Judge  Puffin  and  Gov.  Morehead  and  Mr.  Cameron 
were  all  granted  and  sent.     It  affords  me  pleasure  to 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  63 

have  been  the  humble  medium  through  which  they 
were  obtained. 

As  I  have  heretofore  stated,  much  of  my  time  was 
occupied  in  obtaining  pardons  for  the  people  of 
l^orth  Carolina,  ^ot  less,  I  think,  than  twelve  hun-  ^ 
dred  (1200)  were  obtained  through  me.  The  Pres- 
ident granted  all  for  which  I  asked,  and  rejected  only 
four  (4),  which  I  marked  to  be  rejected.  I  did  not  « 
suggest  or  approve,  and  I  do  not  believe  Mr.  Dick 
or  any  other  friends  suggested  or  approved  of  this 
distinction  made  among  our  people,  requiring  certain 
of  them  to  obtain  pardons  for  what  they  had  done 
during  the  war,  while  the  great  body  of  them  were 
pardoned  by  the  terms  of  the  proclamation  (of  am- 
nesty) itself.  Mr.  Johnson  had  decided  upon  this 
matter  before  we  reached  Washington,  but  I  tried  to 
carry  out  his  wishes  in  this  respect  honestly,  all  the 
while  leaning  to  charity  and  goodwill  towards  the 
persons  seeking  pardons.  In  some  cases  confiscation 
had  commenced,  and  in  every  instance  on  my  appli- 
cation the  property  was  restored.  The  mere  reading 
of  the  applications  sent  to  me  was  very  great,  and  ex- 
hausted me  very  much.  I  was  robust  and  in  good 
health  when  I  entered  on  my  duties,  but  at  the  close 
of  them  I  was  thin  and  sallow  and  weak,  so  intensely 
had  I  labored,  as  I  thought,  for  Xorth  (Carolina. 

A  great  many  of  our  people  regarded  the  State  as 
a  sovereign  State,  and  they  had  acted  accordingly. 
They  had  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things  but  their 
honor  for  what  was  called  the  Confederate  Cause. 
The  statistics  will  show  that  in  proportion  to  popu- 
lation ^orth  Carolina  had  more  men  in  the  army  o 


64  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

than  any  other  State  of  the  Confederate  States ;  had 
more  troops  and  did  more  fighting.  Was  she  not 
honest  ?  Was  she  not  sincere  ?  Certainly  she  was. 
The  bones  of  her  sons  on  a  hundred  battle  fields  attest 
her  honesty,  her  sincereity  and  her  courage.  She 
thoiight  she  was  doing  right,  and  she  will  prove  as 
true  hereafter  to  the  banner  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
as  any  like  aggregation  of  men  anywhere.  Suppose 
Maine  had  seceded  and  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts had  been  called  upon  to  coerce  her  ?  Would 
she  have  done  it  ?    We  know  she  w^ould  not. 

I  had  thus  after  a  very  arduous  service  of  seven- 
months  in  which  I  had  labored,  in  which  I  had  en- 
deavored honestly  and  sincerely  for  the  good  of  the 
whole  people  of  Ntorth  Carolina  approached  the 
period  in  Xovember,  when  an  election  for  Governor 
took  place.  I  was  a  candidate  for  election  myself, 
at  the  request  of  my  friends,  and  the  friends  of  the 
President,  and  a  large  number  of  friends  in  the  Con- 
vention called  to  frame  the  new  Constitution  for  the 
State. 

On  the  14th  of  October,  1865,  the  following  cor- 
respondence took  place: 

"  Raleigh,  October  14,  1865. 
''  Hon.  W.  W.  Holden, 

Sir:  The  undersigned  members  of  the  State  Con- 
vention of  K'orth  Carolina,  fully  appreciating  your 
earnest  and  effective  efforts  for  restoring  our  State 
to  her  constitutional  relations  with  the  Federal 
Government,  and  being  desirous  that  restoration 
should  be  completed  by  one  under  whose  guidance  it 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 


65 


has  been  so  auspiciously  begun,  respectfully  request 
that  you  will  allow  your  name  to  be  placed  before 
the  people  of  North  Carolina  for  the  office  of  Gov- 
ernor at  the  ensuing  election. 


Very  respectfully  yours, 

Lewis  Thompson, 
John  Pool, 
L.  S.  Bingham, 
J.  M.  McCorkle, 
G.  P.  Moore, 
Robert  Love, 
A.  E.  McDonald, 
A.  H.  Jones, 
Bedford  Brown, 
William  Sloan, 
R.  M.  Henry, 
Samuel  Forkner, 
D.  G.  McRae, 
G.  W.  Gehagen, 
G.  W.  Brooks, 
C.  L.  Harris, 
R.  P.  Buxton, 
G.  W.  Logan, 
R.  Swann, 
William  Barrow, 
Thomas  Settle, 
John  JSTorfleet, 
G.  Garland, 
W.  G.  B.  Garrett, 
H.  McGehee, 


A.  H.  Joyce, 
Tod  R.  Caldwell, 
John  B.  Odum, 
J.  A.  McDonald, 
Henderson  Adams, 
Thomas  Haynes, 
W.  T.  Faircloth, 
A.  B.  Barnes, 
James  R.  Ellis, 
James  Rumley, 
Simon  Godwin, 
Robert  P.  Dick, 
J.  W.  McAuley, 
George  W.  Dicky, 
William  H.  Harrison, 
J.  Q.  A.  Bryan, 
G.  W.  Bradley, 
H.  A.  Hodge, 
E.  B.  Lyon, 
R.  J.  Williams, 
D.  Kelly, 
R.  W.  King, 
R.  S.  Donnell, 
Eugene  Grissom, 
S.  P.  Smith." 


6Q  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holde:^ 

"  Kaleigh,  October  17,  1865. 

"Gentlemen:  Your  letter  of  the  14th  inst,  re- 
questing me  to  be  a  candidate  for  Governor  at  the 
election  to  be  held  on  the  9th  of  next  month,  has 
been  received.  I  beg  to  assure  you  that  I  am  very 
grateful  for  this  proof  of  your  esteem  and  confidence. 

''  I  did  not  see  Mhe  place  I  now  occupy,  nor  have  I 
sought  a  nominanon  for  election  by  the  people.  I 
have  been  content  to  do  my  duty  to  the  best  of  my 
ability  under  the  instructions  of  the  President,  and 
to  leave  my  conduct  to  be  judged  by  an  intelligent 
and  indulgent  people.    I  do  not  fear  that  judgment. 

^'  My  duty  has  been,  in  many  respects,  new,  un- 
usual, and  very  onerous.  I  had  no  lights  to  guide  me 
in  the  work  of  reorganizing  and  reconstructing  an 
American  state,  save  the  instructions  received  from 
time  to  time  from  the  President;  and  necessarily 
those  instructions  have  been  only  of  a  general  char- 
acter. My  paramount  concern  has  been,  so  to  do 
that  part  of  the  work  assigned  to  me  as  to  secure  the 
restoration  of  the  State  to  the  Union  at  the  earliest 
practicable  period.  To  what  extent  I  have  succeeded 
in  this  respect  it  is  for  the  people  to  say.  I  can  only 
declare,  as  I  most  solemnly  do,  that  I  have  labored 
with  an  eye  single  to  the  good  and  the  glory  of  North 
Carolina ;  and  that,  whatever  may  be  the  decision  of 
the  people  on  the  9  th  of  Xovember,  I  shall  always 
possess  the  consciousness  that  I  am  a  faithful  and 
devoted  son  of  our  dear  old  State,  and  that  I  have 
labored  with  zeal,  and  with  what  success  my  poor 
faculties  could  command,  to  improve  the  condition 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  67 

of  her  people,  and  to  restore  her  to  her  appropriate 
and  natural  position  in  the  Union. 

"  Gentlemen,  it  is  not  agreeable  to  my  feelings  in 
a  crisis  like  the  present,  when  everything  dear  to 
us  depends  upon  union  and  harmony  among  our- 
selves, to  speak  of  parties.  I  deprecate  faction  and 
bitter  party  spirit  as  the  bane  of  the  Republic.  The 
evils  we  are  now  suffering,  with  all  the  calamities 
that  have  befallen  us,  may  be  traced  to  this  source. 
As  Provisional  Governor  of  the  State,  in  all  I  have 
said  and  done,  I  have  known  no  party  but  the  sin- 
cere friends  of  the  Union.  I  am  neither  a  Democrat 
nor  a  Whig.  Both  these  parties  were  buried  in  the 
grave  of  the  rebellion.  All  I  can  say  is  I  am  a 
North  Carolinian,  heart  and  soul.  "  I  am  an  Amer- 
ican," the  proudest  expression  that  can  issue  from 
human  lips;  and  while  I  hold  with  Andrew  Jack- 
son and  Henry  Clay,  that  the  people  are  the  source 
of  all  power  in  this  country,  and  alone  entitled  to 
rule,  I  declare  that  the  only  party  to  which  I  belong 
is  the  National  Union  party,  composed  of  the  best 
element  of  the  old  parties,  of  which  Andrew  John- 
son is  the  head. 

"If  elected  Governor  by  the  people,  I  will  do  every- 
thing I  can  to  promote  the  prosperity  and  the  hap- 
piness of  North  Carolina,  and  to  secure  her  return 
at  the  earliest  possible  moment  to  her  place  in  the 
Federal  Union. 

''With  many  thanks,  gentlemen,  for  the  confidence 
you  have  reposed  in  me,  and  for  the  flattering  man- 


68  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

ner  in  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  allude  to  me 
in  your  letter,  I  have  the  honor  to  be 

''  Your  most  obedient  servant, 

W.    W.    HOLDEN." 

My  opponent  was  the  Hon.  Jonathan  Worth,  from 
the  County  of  Randolph,  who  was  my  State  Treas- 
urer. I  made  no  speeches,  and  did  not  electioneer 
for  the  office.  Gov.  Worth  made  no  speeches,  but 
remained  in  his  office,  and  said  nothing  to  me  about 
his  candidacy,  but  he  and  his  family  were  understood 
to  have  been  very  active  in  the  campaign.  However, 
he  resigned  his  place  as  treasurer  (during  the  cam- 
paign) and  Dr.  William  Sloan,  of  Gaston  County, 
succeeded  him. 

I  have  not  the  vote  in  full  for  Governor,  but  Gov. 
Worth's  maj^prity  over  me  was  about  six  thousand 
(6^P0),  and  the  returns  of  the  election  in  the  vari- 
ous counties  will  show  that  I  was  supported  mainly 
by  the  old  Union  men,  and  he  for  the  most  part  by 
the  Secessionists  of  the  Democratic  party.  For  exam- 
ple, Bladen,  Brunswick,  Caldwell,  Catawba,  Cum- 
berland, Cleveland,  Duplin,  Edgecomb,  Franklin, 
Halifax,  Mecklenburg,  Xew  Hanover,  Orange,  Pitt, 
Rowan,  Rockingham,  Wayne,  Warren,  Wilson,  gave 
majority  for  Gov.  Worth.  Bertie,  Burke,  Buncombe, 
Caswell,  Chatham,  Greene,  Harnett,  Henderson, 
Johnson,  McDowell,  Randolph,  Rutherford,  Surrey, 
Wake,  Stokes,  Wilkes,  gave  majority  for  Holden. 
The -County  of  Wake  gave  Holden  1,702  ;  Worth  453. 
The  County  of  Randolph  gave  Worth  640 ;  Holden 
652.      The   County   of   Forsythe  gave   Holden    68; 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  69 

Worth  1,110.  This  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  Hol- 
den sent  to  the  Convention  as  Provisional  Governor 
the  telegram  from  President  Johnson  advising  that 
body  that  it  was  indispensable  to  repudiate  the  rebel 
debt,  including  State  Treasury  notes.  The  same 
County  of  Forsythe  voted  for  me  for  Governor  in 
1868,  by  800  majority.  Both  her  delegates,  Messrs. 
Starbuck  and  Lash,  were  for  paying  the  rebel  debt. 

Soon  after  my  defeat  I  received  the  following  let- 
ter from  the  President: 

"  Washington,  l^ovember  27,  1865. 

"Accept  my  thanks  for  the  noble  and  efficient  man- 
ner in  which  you  have  discharged  your  duty  as  Pro- 
visional Governor.  You  will  be  sustained  by  the 
government. 

'^  The  results  of  the  recent  elections  in  E^orth  Caro- 
lina have  greatly  damaged  the  prospects  of  the  State 
in  the  restoration  of  its  governmental  relations. 
Should  the  action  and  spirit  of  the  legislature  be  in 
the  same  direction,  it  will  greatly  increase  the  mis- 
chief already  done  and  might  be  fatal. 

''  It  is  hoped  that  the  action  and  spirit  manifested 
by  the  legislature  will  be  so  directed  as  rather  to 
repair  than  to  increase  the  difficulties  under  which 
the  State  has  already  placed  itself. 

Andrew  Johnson^ 
President  of  the  United  States.'' 

In  ITovember,  1881,  I  wrote  a  number  of  articles 


70  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

for  the  Raleigh  News  and  Observer,  which  I  beg 
leave  to  reproduce  entire.  Thej  contain  many  things 
which  I  desire  the  people  of  the  State  to  know. 

LETTERS  from   GOVERXOR   HOLDEN. 

(Cor.  of  The  News  and  Observer.) 

Raleigh,  November  24,  1881. 

Capt.  S.  A.  Ashe: — I  have  examined  carefully 
Major  John  W.  Moore's  School  History  of  North 
Carolina,  revised  and  enlarged,  adopted  by  the  State 
Board  of  Education,  and  published  by  Messrs.  Alfred 
Williams  &  Co. 

I  have  no  wish  to  appear  before  the  people  of  the 
State.  I  could  not  ask  anything  at  their  hands  if 
I  would,  for,  as  Mr.  Moore  nervously  states  it  in  his 
forty-first  chapter,  I  have  been  '^declared  incapable 
of  holding  any  further  honor  or  dignity  in  the  State." 
Yet  I  ask  to  be  heard  while  I  attempt  a  few  correc- 
tions in  Major  Moore's  History  which  concern  my- 
self and  others.  I  will  do  this  in  no  carping  or  com- 
plaining spirit,  and  I  will  not  have  a  controversy 
with  any  one.  The  whole  people  of  the  State,  and 
especially  the  youth  of  the  State,  are  interested  in 
having  its  history  correctly  written.  The  form  and 
pressure  of  the  time  may  be  correctly  outlined,  but 
if  the  details  are  incorrect,  or  only  partially  pre- 
sented, or  if  the  writer  seems  to  favor  one  class  more 
than  another,  or  to  champion  his  side,  then  to  this 
extent  the  book  which  is  called  a  history  is  incom- 
plete. I  do  not  say  that  Major  Moore  has  delib- 
erately   presented    or    omitted    details    which    are 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  71 

so  necessary  to  the  truth  of  history,  or  that  he  has 
been  consciously  governed  in  writing  by  party  or 
sectional  feeling;  and  with  this  disclaimer,  which 
is  certainly  sincerely  made,  I  feel  the  more  free  in 
discussing  certain  statements  in  his  history,  to  speak 
with  candor  and  plainness,  as  I  am  sure  I  shall,  with 
respect  and  courtesy. 

On  page  232  of  Major  Moore's  history,  a  state- 
ment is  made  that  "a  few  men  who  had  been  his 
(Governor  Vance's)  warmest  friends  two  years  be- 
fore, were  found  opposing  him.  These  composed  a 
small  fragment  of  the  people,  and  William  W.  Hol- 
den  of  Wake,  was  their  candidate.  He  was  editor 
of  the  Standard^  a  newspaper  that  had,  in  years  past, 
been  extreme  in  Southern  proclivities,  but  of  late  Mr. 
Holden  had  advocated  J^orth  Carolina's  withdrawal 
from  the  Confederacy,  and  the  making  of  separate 
terms  with  the  powers  at  Washington.  Governor 
Vance,  and  most  of  the  people  in  and  out  of  the 
army,  opposed  this  project  as  dishonorable  and  un- 
just to  their  compatriots  of  other  states." 

Without  saying  what  the  character  of  the  Standard 
was  previously  to  1860,  I  state  that  during  the  year 
I  joined  with  the  great  body  of  the  Whigs  of  the 
State  in  efforts  to  preserve  the  Union;  but  that  the 
Unionists  of  the  State,  the  bulk  of  whom  afterwards 
became  Conservatives  and  ^^peace"  men,  did  nothing 
that  can  be  justly  characterized  as  ^^dishonorable." 
These  men,  known  as  Conservatives,  elected  Gov- 
ernor Vance  Governor  by  an  immense  majority  in 
1862 ;  and  throughout  the  campaign  which  termi- 
nated in  his  election  he  was  denounced  by  the  Dem- 


72  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

ocrats  and  the  Democratic  press  as  a  traitor  to  the 
Confederacy,  and  a  siibmissionist  to  Northern 
aggression,  though  he  was  at  the  same  time  gallantly 
baring  his  bosom  to  the  bullets  and  bayonets  of  the 
Union  armies.  But  as  a  ''peace"  man,  after  July 
1863,  I  urged  that  this  State  alone,  or  with  other 
Southern  States,  should  negotiate  for  peace  on  hon- 
orable terms  with  the  general  government,  as  it 
seemed  to  be  clear  that  Mr.  Davis  would  not  in  any 
event  attempt  to  negotiate;  and  as  it  also  appeared 
to  be  clear  that  if  the  war  went  to  its  end  our  subju- 
gation was  inevitable.  In  this  I  was  sustained  by  a 
large  majority  of  our  people,  until  Governor  Vance's 
Wilkesborough  speech  on  the  22d  of  February,  1864. 

I  have  no  doubt  I  have  made  numerous  mistakes 
as  a  public  man,  but  I  am  satisfied  that  I  made  no 
mistake  in  the  course  I  pursued  for  the  last  year  or 
two  of  the  war  as  a  ''peace  man."  Indeed,  Major 
Moore  himself  says,  on  page  230  of  his  history: 

"  The  siege  of  Petersburg  went  on,  and  the  sad 
news  of  General  Early's  defeats  in  the  valley  came 
ever  and  anon  to  add  fresh  sorrow  and  despair  to 
the  South ;  but  with  a  blind  and  desperate  disregard 
of  the  situation,  no  hand  was  lifted  to  stay  the  slaugh- 
ter or  make  terms  amid  so  many  combatants." 

This  is  very  strong  language.  In  the  midst  of 
these  scenes  of  "sorrow  and  despair,"  was  it  "dishon- 
orable" in  the  "peace"  men  of  this  State  to  lift  their 
hands  to  "stay  the  slaughter"  and  make  terms  of 
peace  with  t'Ee  advancing  conqueror  ?  North  Caro- 
lina had  very  reluctantly  followed  her  compatriots  of 
the  Southern  States  in  resisting  the  authority  of  the 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  73 

Union.  The  chief  corner  stone  of  the  Confederacy 
was  the  right  of  secession.  North  Carolina  was, 
therefore,  a  sovereign  State,  and  had  a  right  to  do 
whatever  she  deemed  best  for  the  protection  and 
prosperity  of  her  people.  The  adherents  of  the  Con- 
federacy to  the  last  and  the  ^^peace"  men  were 
equally  honest  and  patriotic.  Both  classes  fought  to 
the  last.  And  I  believe  it  to  be  a  fact  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  soldiers  of  ^N^orth  Carolina  sent  to  the 
field  had  been  Union  men. 

If  I  foresaw  the  awful  scenes  of  "sorrow  and  de- 
spair" referred  to  sooner  than  others  foresaw  them, 
and  raised  my  voice  for  peace  in  time  to  avert  those 
scenes,  if  my  voice  had  been  heeded,  am  I  to  be  cen- 
sured for  it? 

On  page  249  Major  Moore  speaks  of  Andrew  John- 
son as  having  "gained  position  in  the  courts  of  Ten- 
nessee." My  recollection  is  that  Mr.  Johnson  never 
practiced  in  the  courts. 

On  page  251  Major  Moore  says  that  in  1868,  "by 
orders  of  General  Canby,  Governor  Holden  was 
again  restored  to  the  chief  magistracy."  This  state- 
ment is  calculated  to  mislead  the  student.  It  is  true, 
in  the  preceding  paragraph  Major  Moore  refers  to 
the  "election  in  1868,"  but  he  omits  the  fact  that  I 
was  elected  by  the  people  by  nearly  twenty  thousand 
majority,  as  the  first  civil  Governor  after  the  war, 
over  Thomas  S.  Ashe,  now  a  Supreme  Court  Judge. 
I  was  not,  therefore,  "restored"  to  the  office  by  Gen- 
eral Canby,  but  I  was  elected  to  it  by  the  people.  I 
had  been  Provisional  Governor  for  seven  months  in 
1865,  and  Governor  Worth  succeeded  me,  chosen  by 


74  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

the  people ;  but  Governor  Worth  was  as  much  under 
the  Federal  power  as  I  was  in  1865.  It  is  true,  as 
Major  Moore  states,  that  Governor  Worth  contended 
''for  legal  protection  for  the  people  against  the  inter- 
ference of  military  commanders  and  courts-martial," 
but  he  contended  in  vain  so  far  as  power  was  con- 
cerned, as  I  did  in  1865.  The  records  of  the  Execu- 
tive office  show  many  able  arguments  in  my  name, 
written  by  Col.  Tod  R.  Caldwell,  then  one  of  my 
aides,  afterwards  Governor,  to  convince  the  military 
that  we  ought  to  be  allowed  to  try  State  criminals  in 
our  o^vn  courts. 

On  page  246  Maj.  Moore  says  that  in  1865  ''Gov- 
ernor Holden  continued  Judges  Pearson  and  Battle 
in  their  places  as  Supreme  fCourt  Judges,  but  re- 
placed Judge  M.  E.  Manly  by  Edwin  G.  Reade,  of 
Person."  The  fact  is,  I  appointed  no  Supreme  Court 
Judges  in  1865,  but  I  appointed  the  following  gen- 
tlemen Superior  Court  Judges:  David  A.  Barnes, 
Edward  J.  Warren,  Daniel  G.  Fowle,  Ralph  P. 
Buxton,  Robert  B.  Gilliam,  Edwin  G.  Reade,  Ander- 
son Mitchell,  with  Sion  H.  Rogers  as  Attorney- 
General. 

On  page  245  Maj.  Moore  says:  "When  the  Pro- 
visional Governor  had  entered  upon  the  discharge  of 
his  official  duties,  he  and  the  Treasurer  discovered 
that  North  Carolina  was  reduced  to  a  small  supply 
of  cotton  as  the  sum  of  her  available  means  to  dis- 
charge the  current  expenses  of  the  new  government. 
This  last  resort  was  seized  by  the  agents  of  the 
United  States,  and,  to  Gov.  Holden's  pathetical  ap- 
peals for  its  release,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  75 


and  President  Johnson  proved  deaf  and  inexorable." 
JSTow  the  facts  are  these:  As  the  result  of  appeals 
to  President  Johnson  while  I  was  in  Washington  in 
May,  1865,  he  did  for  this,  his  native  state,  what  he 
did  for  no  other  Southern  State.  He  authorized  me 
to  collect  and  sell  all  the  cotton,  resin,  wagons,  horses, 
mules,  and  indeed  all  the  property  which  had  be- 
longd  to  Gov.  Vance's  war  department,  and  use  the 
proceeds  in  the  work  of  "  restoration,"  as  he  called 
it.  He  also,  as  the  result  of  a  cogent  argument  writ- 
ten for  me  by  the  lamented  John  A.  Gilmer,  and 
copied  and  forwarded  by  me,  released  to  the  private 
stockholders  the  Piedmont  railroad  from  Danville 
to  Greensboro,  which  was  then  in  process  of  confisca- 
tion by  the  general  government  as  a  Confederate  war 
road.  Governor  Worth,  who  was  Treasurer,  col- 
lected under  my  direction  and  sold  the  property  thus 
given  by  President  Johnson  to  the  State  at  my  re- 
quest. The  amount  realized  for  it  in  cash  was  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  This 
amount,  with  seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars 
allowed  me  by  President  Johnson  for  office  expenses, 
sufficed  for  all  State  expenses  for  seven  months.  The 
amnesty  oath  was  administered  throughout  the  State, 
all  the  cities,  to^^^ms  and  counties  were  reorganized, 
the  courts  were  held  in  all  the  counties,  a  convention 
of  the  people,  and  a  legislature  was  elected  and 
held,  and,  on  going  out  of  office  on  the  29th  Decem- 
ber, 1865,  I  left  of  this  amount  in  the  hands  of  the 
new  Treasurer,  Hon.  Kemp  P.  Battle,  as  the  records 
will  show,  the  sum  of  forty  thousand  dollars  for  cur- 
rent State  expenses. 


76  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

Andrew  Johnson  loved  his  native  State.  It  was 
not  necessary  to  make  ^'pathetic"  appeals  to  him  to 
influence  him  to  show  even  special  favors  to  Xorth 
Carolina. 

Very  respectfully, 

W.    W.    HOLDEN. 


Ealeigh,  IJ^ovember  29,  1881. 

Capt.  S.  A.  Ashe: — On  page  232  of  his  history, 
Maj.  Moore  says: 

"  The  persistency  of  President  Davis,  at  Rich- 
mond, in  refusing  to  make  overtures  to  Mr.  Lincoln, 
in  order  to  break  the  force  of  the  coming  overthrow, 
led  to  secret  propositions  by  certain  members  of  the 
Confederate  Congress  from  other  States,  in  which 
they  besought  Ex-Governor  Graham  to  approach 
Gov.  Vance  on  this  subject.  Gov.  Vance  refused  to 
take  any  part  in  such  a  scheme." 

The  last  sentence  in  the  above  paragraph  may  not 
be  entirely  just  to  Gov.  Graham,  for  it  may  leave  the 
impression  on  the  mind  of  the  student  that  he  ap- 
proved these  ''secret  propositions,"  and  was,  there- 
fore, covertly  disposed  to  abandon  the  Confederacy. 
I  am  sure  I  may  truly  say  that,  after  Gov.  Vance's 
Wilkesborough  speech,  which  separated  him  and  my- 
self. Gov.  Graham  stood  by  him  unflinchingly  to  the 
last.  But  I  think  he  had  misgivings  as  to  his  course. 
I  remember  vividly  a  protracted  interview  in  the  Ex- 
ecutive Mansion  between  Gov.  Graham,  Gov.  Vance 
and   myself,    in   August,    1863.      The   conversation 


Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden  77 

lasted  two  hours.  It  might  not  be  proper  to  repeat 
all  that  was  said  on  the  occasion.  The  utmost  can- 
dor was  shown  by  all  of  us.  Mr.  Satterthwaite,  of 
Beaufort,  was  present.  He  is  dead,  and  Gov.  Vance 
and  myself  are  the  only  survivors.  I  believe  I  may 
truly  say  that,  in  this  conversation  Gov.  Graham 
agreed  with  me  rather  than  with  Gov.  Vance.  It  is 
probable  that  Gov.  Graham  took  no  active  part  for 
State  action  looking  to  an  honorable  peace,  because 
he  hoped  and  believed  that  Mr.  Davis  himself  would 
make  overtures  for  peace.  I  have  it  from  a  dis- 
tinguished ex-member  of  the  Confederate  Congress 
from  this  State,  that  at  Gov.  Graham's  request  he 
sounded  Mr.  Davis  early  in  1865  as  to  his  final  pur- 
pose in  this  regard,  and  that  the  answer  of  Mr.  Davis 
was,  and  given  with  emphasis,  "  I  will  never  accept 
any  peace  short  of  the  independence  of  the  (Confed- 
eracy.'' When  this  answer  was  reported  to  Gov. 
Graham,  he  said,  ^'then  Mr.  Davis  has  deceived  me." 
The  demand  for  an  honorable  peace  flashed  like 
fire  throughout  this  State  in  August  and  September, 
1863.  Within  eight  weeks  one  hundred  peace  meet- 
ings were  held,  composed  mainly  of  men  who  had 
elected  Gov.  Vance.  These  meetings  tested  Gov. 
Vance's  native  firmness.  He  was  not  moved  by 
them  in  his  steadfast  adherence  to  the  Confederacy. 
It  has  been  said  that  these  meetings  led  to  desertions 
from  the  army.  But  the  ^'peace"  men  had  no  such 
purpose.  The  Standard  files  will  be  searched  in  vain 
for  any  intimation  even  that  ISTorth  Carolina  soldiers 
should  desert  their  colors.  The  motto  of  the  ^^peace" 
men,  which  I  received  from  the  lips  of  John  A.  Gil- 


78  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

mer,  was,  "  Let  us  figlit  and  talk  for  peace  at  the 
same  time."  ^orth  Carolina  was  at  that  time  at 
fever-heat  for  peace,  and  I  think  it  more  than  likely 
that  these  meetings  were  safety  valves  to  the  Con- 
federacy; for  the  people  at  home,  having  expressed 
their  views  and  opinions,  and  finding  that  nothing 
could  be  done  to  arrest  the  war,  relapsed  into  their 
condition  of  suffering  and  endurance,  and  'Svaded 
deeper"  as  Maj.  Moore  said  on  page  230,  '^into  the 
crimson  flood."  Indeed,  the  exmember  of  Congress 
to  whom  I  have  referred,  and  who  was  a  good  Con- 
federate, told  Mr.  Davis  that  if  something  was  not 
done  by  him  looking  to  peace,  North  Carolina  could 
not  be  held  to  her  place  in  the  Confederacy. 

Under  the  head  of  1867  and  68  I  quote  as  follows, 
from  pages  250  and  252 :  ''  In  society  there  was  great 
confusion  in  the  presence  of  two  rival  secret  socie- 
ties. These  were  known  as  the  Union  League  and 
the  Ku  Klux  Klan.  The  negroes  and  a  few  white 
men  belonged  to  the  former,  and,  in  those  sections 
of  North  Carolina  where  the  Regulators  of  old  were 
found,  the  famous  White  Brotherhood  or  Ku  Klux 
also  became  numerous  during  the  years  subsequent 
to  the  advent  of  their  rival. 

'^  The  year  closed  in  with  apprehension  to  all 
classes  in  the  South.  The  new  State  governments 
were  greatly  disturbed  by  the  Ku  Klux,  and  in  the 
pandemonium  of  bribery  and  corruption  developed 
in  the  different  assemblies  was  justification  for  the 
fears  of  the  men  who,  in  the  reckless  appropriations, 
foresaw  ruin  to  all  material  interests  of  the  State." 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  defend  the  Union  League 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  79 


or  to  assail  the  Ku  Klux  Klan.     It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  the  former  was  comparatively  harmless,  and 
was  unarmed,  and  that  the  latter  was  armed.     I  was  ^ 
myself  at  the  head  of  the  League  in  this  State,  and 
the  violations  of  law  complained  of  were  without  my 
knowledge  and  against  my  orders.     The  rituals  of 
this  order  were  freely  distributed  everywhere,  and 
those  who  read  them  will  remember  that  they  simply 
inculcated  what  was  then  known  as  loyalty,  with  in- 
dustry,  especially   among   the   colored   people,    and 
obedience  to  law.    The  day  before  I  took  the  oath  of 
office  of  Governor  in  Capitol  Square,  I  resigned  my 
position  as  chief  of  the  League  in  this  State,  because 
I  could  not  have  on  my  conscience  my  oath  as  Gov- 
ernor and  at  the  same  time  an  oath  binding  myself 
to  a  secret  political  society.     I  have  not,  since  that 
day,  attended  ai^  League  meeting.    My  correspond- 
ence  as   Governor,    in    1870,    with  ,Captain   Pride 
Jones,  of  Orange,  which  is  of  record,  will  show  that  I 
deprecated  all  secret  political  societies,  and  that  I 
did  not,  while  I  belonged  to  one  of  these  societies, 
proceed  to  put  down  another  one  of  them,  namely,  * 
the  Ku  Klux.    Maj.  Moore  is  mistaken  in  assuming 
that  the  Ku  Klux  were  for  the  most  part  numerous 
in  the  ancient  territory  of  the  Kegulators.    It  is  true, 
if  my  recollections  be  not  at  fault,  that  the  Honorable 
John  W.  :Nrorwood  stated  in  the  Senate,  in  1873,  that 
there  were,  or  had  been  eighteen  hundred  Ku  Klux 
in  the  County  of  Orange ;   but  this  order  existed,  as 
I  think,  in  a  majority  of  the  counties,  and,  as  some 
of  the  members  of  it  swore  before  the  courts,  the 
number  was  not  less  than  forty  thousand  in  the  State. 


80  Memoirs  of  W.  Yl.  Holdex 

Maj.  Moore  states  the  fact  that  the  new  State  gov- 
ernments were  greatly  disturbed  by  the  Kii  Klux. 
He  also  does  me  the  justice  to  state  that,  in  repeated 
proclamations  I  demanded  that  violence  should 
cease.  This  I  did  in  five  proclamations  and  in  nu- 
merous letters  and  orders,  for  the  space  of  eighteen 
months,  from  October  1868  until  June  1870;  but 
all  my  appeals  for  law  and  order  and  peace  addressed 
to  both  parties,  were  in  vain.  One  of  two  courses  was 
before  me:  Either  to  enforce  the  law  with  a  strong 
hand,  and  thus  make  the  fight  of  the  sword,  and  not 
the  use  of  it,  as  I  did,  the  instrument  for  restoring 
civil  power;  or  to  resign  my  place  and  skulk  from 
my  oath  and  my  duty  into  retirement.  I  could  not 
do  the  latter,  and  hence  I  acted.  I  have  no  doubt 
I  made  blunders  and  mistakes  in  some  of  the  means 
which  I  employed  to  suppress  the  Ku  Klux,  but  let 
me  ask,  did  the  Union  and  Confederate  commanders 
make  no  mistakes  in  their  operations  during  the 
late  war  ? 

Maj.  Moore  would  leave  the  impression,  on  page 
255,  that  there  had  been  "great  improvement  in 
peaceful  relations"  until  May,  1870,  when  Senator 
Stephens  was  murdered  in  Caswell  court  house,  and 
said  "on  the  publication  of  the  news  of  the  murder 
of  Mr.  Stephens,  Gov.  Holden  hastened  to  carry  out 
the  intention  of  the  framers  of  this  (the  Shoffner) 
statute."  He  adds  significantly,  on  the  same  page, 
"the  election  was  to  occur  on  the  first  Thursday  in 
August." 

I  am  obliged  to  the  historian  for  these  statements, 
because  they  enable  me  to  state  a  fact  hitherto  un- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  81 

known  to  the  people  of  the  State.     Governor  Graham 
dwelt  much  in  the  impeachment  trial  on  the  fact  that 
I  began  mj  military  movement  only  a  month  before 
the  August  election ;    and  he  thence  drew  the  infer- 
ence that  my  purpose  was  to  influence  the  election 
thus  near  at  hand.      The   Senate  or  impeachment 
court  had  ruled  that  no  witnesses  outside  of  the  two 
counties  in  insurrection  could  be  heard  in  evidence. 
The  Legislature  had  appropriated  seventy  thousand 
dollars  to  be  used  by  me  in  enforcing  the  law.     If 
the  Hon.   David  A.   Jenkins,  the  State  Treasurer, 
could  have  been  heard  as  a  witness,  he  would  have 
sworn  that  it  was  my  wish  to  begin  the  movement  at 
least  two  months  before  the  election ;   that  he  had  no 
funds  in  hand  at  that  time  that  I  could  use;   and  that 
he  notified  me  on  the  first  of  July  that  he  was  in 
receipt  of  ninety  thousand  dollars,  dividends  from 
the  ]^orth  Carolina  Eailroad  and  that  I  could  have 
the  seventy  thousand  from  the  amount  thus  received. 
I  think  this  explains  the  matter  to  the  satisfaction  of 
every   fair-minded   man.      My   recollection   is    that 
W.  R  Albright,  Esq.,  of  Alamance,  swore  before  the 
impeachment  court  or  before  the  court  in  chambers, 
that  he  had  told  me  a  week  or  two  before  the  election 
that  while  he  approved  my  course,  yet  the  shock  to 
the  people  of  the  State  was  so  great  as  the  result  of 
my  course  that  he  feared  the  result  would  lose  the 
State;    and  that  I  replied  in  these  words:  "I  do  not  • 
care  how  the  State  goes,  if  by  what  I  am  doing  I 
shall  save  one  human  life.''     I  declared  that  all  I 
desired  was  a  free  ballot  and  a  fair  count;    and  that 
I  was  moved  solely  in  what  I  did  by  a  wish  to  pro- 


82  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

tect  life  and  property;  to  protect  the  poor  and  the 
humble  as  well  as  the  rich,  and  that,  too,  without 
regard  to  race  or  party. 

Thanking  you,  Sir,  for  your  kindness  and  courtesy 
in  publishing  my  letters,  I  am 

Very  respectfully, 

W.    W.    HOLDEN. 

GOV.   HOLDEN  OX  MOORE^S  HISTORY. 

( Cor.  of  the  Xews  and  Observer. ) 

Ealeigh,  December  6,  1881. 

Capt.  S.  A.  Ashe : — I  have  read  your  comments  on 
my  first  and  second  numbers.  Maj.  Moore  and  my- 
self are  trying  to  write  a  little  history.  It  is  not 
my  purpose  to  write  politics,  or  to  assail  or  defend 
any  party  formerly  or  now  in  existence.  We  want 
the  truth  of  history;  and  men  who  have  heretofore 
differed  in  politics,  and  who  now  differ,  should  each 
contribute  his  mite  to  the  presentation  and  perpetu- 
ation of  this  truth.  It  is  Xorth  Carolina  who  is  con- 
cerned in  these  discussions,  and  not  party  politics. 
0.0  page  251  of  his  history  Maj.  Moore  says: 
"  The  Legislature,  elected  under  the  recently 
adopted  constitution,  met  on  January  14,  1868." 
IN^ow,  Gov.  Worth  was  still  Governor  on  January  14, 
1868.  I  have  before  me  the  journal  of  the  two 
houses  for  the  first  session  of  the  Legislature,  from 
which  it  appears  that  that  body  assembled  on  the 
first  day  of  July,  1868,  in  pursuance  of  a  proclama- 
tion issued  the  morning  of  that  day  by  myself  as  Gov- 
ernor.    On  this  day  Gov.  Caldwell  for  the  first  time 


Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden  83 


assumed  his  duties  as  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate, 
and  in  the  House  of  Eepresentatives  Joseph  W .  Hol- 
den was  elected  speaker. 

But  Maj.  Moore  says  this  Legislature  was  "com- 
posed principally  of  colored  men  and  citizens  from 
the  North  who  had  lately  taken  residence  in  North 
Carolina/' 

The  Senate  consisted  of  fifty  members,  and  the 
House  of  one  hundred  and  twenty.  Thirty-eight 
Senators  appeared  in  their  seats  on  the  first  day,  and 
I  have  traced  eight  more  Senators  through  the  jour- 
nal. Of  these  forty-six  Senators  thirty-three  were 
natives,  nine  were  adopted  citizens  and  four  were 
colored.  On  the  first  day  one  hundred  members  of 
the  House  appeared  in  their  seats.  Of  these  one 
hundred,  seventy-five  were  natives,  eleven  were  | 
adopted  citizens,  and  fourteen  were  colored.  Thus, 
of  one  hundred  and  forty-six  members  of  the  two  i 
houses,  one  hundred  and  eight  were  natives,  twenty 
were  adopted  citizens  and  eighteen  were  colored. 

On  page  247  Maj.  Moore  says:  "  In  the  Southern 
elections  that  were  held,  every  man  was  required  to 
take  oaths  of  allegiance  and  for  the  support  of  the 
amended  Federal  constitution.'' 

This  is  true.  But  it  might  have  been  as  well  if 
not  better  for  the  instruction  of  the  rising  generation, 
if  Maj.  Moore  had  added  to  the  foregoing  something 
like  the  following :  The  Southern  people  had  honestly 
chosen  to  renounce  their  allegiance  to  the  Federal 
government.  It  was  natural,  and  has  always  been 
usual,  for  a  people  thus  situated  to  renew  their  oaths 
as  the  Southern  people  did.     They  could  not  have 


84  llE^roiRS  OF  W.  W.  Holder 

been  good  citizens  of  the  restored  Union  with  the  old 
Confederate  oaths  upon  their  consciences. 
But  Maj.  Moore  adds: 

"A  vast  majority  were  resolved  to  support  the 
Union  in  good  faith,  and  were  satisfied  that  the  re- 
sults of  the  war  were  providential  and  for  the  best, 
but,  unhappily,  this  was  not  so  understood  by  Thad- 
deus  Stevens  and  the  men  who  controlled  legisla- 
tion at  Washington.  They  were  impressed  with  the 
belief  that  only  hostile  sentiments  actuated  Southern 
white  men,  and,  therefore,  the  proper  policy  left  to 
Congress  was  to  confer  political  power  upon  the  ne- 
groes, and  in  that  way  establish  a  new  system  of 
rule  and  social  life  in  the  States  lately  in  revolt. 
This  was  a  great  and  cruel  mistake  in  policy.  It  was 
not  only  impossible  in  execution,  but  was  to  entail 
trouble  and  suffering  on  both  races  thus  put  in  antag- 
onism. It  could  not  be  expected  that  the  white  peo- 
ple living  in  the  same  region  with  colored  rulers 
would  quietly  submit  to  their  domination,  even  if 
such  rulers  had  been  equally  intelligent  and  socially 
respected.'' 

The  people  of  North  (Carolina  had  rejected  Pres- 
ident Johnson's  plan  of  reconstruction  on  the  white 
basis.  They  had  also  rejected  the  Howard  amend- 
ment, under  which  they  could  have  returned  to  the 
Union,  as  Tennessee  did.  !N^early  three  years  from 
the  close  of  hostilities  had  elapsed,  and  we  were  still 
under  provisional  forms,  with  the  national  military 
paramount.  What  was  to  be  done  ?  In  a  conversa- 
tion     had   with   Thaddeus   Stevens,   in   December, 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  85 

1866,  he  told  me  he  thought  it  would  be  best  for  the 
South  to  remain  ten  years  longer  under  military  rule, 
and  that  during  this  time  we  would  have  Territorial 
Governors,  with  Territorial  Legislatures,  and  the 
government  at  Washington  would  pay  our  general 
expenses  as  territories,  and  educate  our  children, 
w^hite  and  colored.  I  did  not  want  that  state  of 
things  in  ]^orth  Carolina.  I  did  not  want  to  run  the 
risk  of  a  practical  confiscation  of  our  property  to 
pay  the  expenses  which  would  have  been  entailed 
upon  us  by  these  military  governments.  I  did  not 
want  !N^orth  Carolina  to  cease  to  exist  as  a  State.  I 
confess  I  feared  confiscation  of  property  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent,  especially  as  President  Johnson  had 
said  to  me  in  May,  1865,  ''I  intend  to  confiscate  the 
lands  of  these  rich  men  whom  I  have  excluded  from 
pardon  by  my  proclamation,  and  divide  the  proceeds 
thereof  among  the  families  of  the  wool  hat  boys,  the 
Confederate  soldiers,  Avhom  these  men  forced  into 
battle  to  protect  their  property  in  slaves." 

Besides,  the  colored  people  were  free  by  the  act 
of  God.  They  were  men  like  ourselves.  Could  we 
have  reconstructed  the  shattered  Union  on  a  basis  of 
justice  and  peace,  and  left  them  under  our  feet,  peons 
and  surfs  ?  What  shadow  even  of  political  or  judi- 
cial or  civil  justice  would  they  have  received,  if  they 
had  been  refused  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  had  been 
excluded  as  witnesses  from  the  courts  ? 

So  far  as  the  "social"  aspect  of  the  matter  is  con- 
cerned, that  settles  itself.  I  have  never  advocated 
"social  equality,"  as  it  is  called,  among  either  the 
whites  or  the  blacks,  or  between  the  two  races.    There 


86  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

*  is  no  equality  of  a  social  character  among  the  whites, 
and  there  is  no  equality  of  a  social  character  among 

t  the  colored  people.  Each  race  has  its  own  dis- 
tinct and  separate  society.  There  is  no  trace  of 
'^social"  or  "negro  equality"  in  things  purely  social 
in  the  reconstruction  acts  or  in  the  Federal  consti- 

I  tution.  If  the  white  people  of  ISTorth  Carolina  are 
suffering  "socially"  because  the  white  man  and  the 
colored  man  stand  on  the  same  footing  politically  and 
civilly,  the  fault  is  w^ith  themselves.  The  colored 
people  will  not  seek  to  place  themselves  on  the  same 
footing  socially  with  the  white  people  unless  they 
are  encouraged  by  the  latter  so  to  do.  Therefore, 
political  and  civil  equality  constitute  one  thing,  and 
social  equality  another. 

Maj.  Moore  complains  of  "a  great  and  cruel  mis- 
take in  policy"  in  reconstructing  the  Southern 
States.  Allow  me  to  say  that  up  to  1860  the  South 
had  full  control  of  the  Federal  government.  Let  us 
suppose,  that,  during  this  period,  the  eastern  or  north- 
ern States  had  seceded  or  revolted,  and  the  South, 
having  possession  of  the  common  government,  had 
subjugated  or  conquered  them,  would  the  South  have 
'    allowed  them  to  return  to  the  Union  on  their  owti 

*  terms?  Would  we  not  have  been  a  little  hard  on 
them  ? 

On  page  255  Maj.  Moore,  referring  to  the  arrests 
made  by  my  order,  in  1870,  says: 

"  In  some  instances  persons  thus  seized  were  hung 
up  by  the  neck,  or  otherwise  treated  with  great  bru- 
tality." 

The  above  statement  is  calculated  to  produce  the 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  87 

impression  on  the  rising  generation  and  on  others 
that  this  ^^hanging"  and  this  ''brutality"  resulted 
from  my  orders  as  commander-in-chief.  It  is  due 
to  the  history  of  the  State,  as  well  as  to  myself,  that 
I  should  state  the  facts,  which  are  as  follows:  Two 
cases  of  this  kind  were  brought  to  my  attention.  I 
was  as  much  surj^rised  at  this  ''hanging  up,"  and  as 
indignant  at  it  as  anyone  could  have  been.  All  my 
orders,  verbal  and  written,  were  that  all  persons 
should  be  treated  humanely  and  protected  from  in- 
sult and  injury.  One  of  my  officers,  in  order  to  ex- 
tort confession  from  supposed  Ku  Klux,  had  put  a 
rope  around  the  necks  of  two  men,  one  a  Mr.  Patton, 
of  Alamance,  and  one  a  young  man  whose  name  I 
will  not  mention.  I  sent  for  Mr.  Patton.  He  at  once 
reported  himself  to  me  at  Kaleigh.  I  directed  him 
to  stop  at  the  J^ational  Hotel,  which  he  did,  remain- 
ing a  day  or  two,  I  paying  his  bill  out  of  my  private 
pocket.  He  told  me  all  about  it.  He  was  much 
frightened  but  not  hurt  in  his  person.  I  did  not 
see  the  young  man  above  referred  to  until  he  ap- 
peared as  a  witness  against  me  in  the  impeachment 
trial.  He  denied  positively  that  he  was  a  Ku  Klux, 
and  told  the  story  of  his  "hanging"  with  such  partic- 
ularity and  pathos  that  the  hearers  were  moved  to 
pity  for  him  and  indignation  towards  myself.  It 
turned  out,  about  one  year  after  this,  civil  law  having 
been  restored  to  Alamance,  by  my  action,  that  the 
grand  jury  of  that  county,  consisting  of  thirteen  Ee- 
publicans  and  -^ve  Democrats,  found  a  bill  against 
him  and  fourteen  others  for  the  murder  of  Wyatt 
Outlaw.     He  fled  to  Tennessee.     In  the  autumn  of 


88  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

1873  I  was  in  Hillsborough,  and  united  with  the 
Hon.  Thomas  Ruffin,  now  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  James  E.  Boyd,  Esq.,  in  a  correspondence,  which 
was  published  in  the  newspapers,  and  led  to  the  am- 
nesty act  soon  after  passed  by  the  Legislature.  One 
of  the  grounds  of  appeal  to  me  to  join  in  the  corres- 
pondence was,  that  the  father  of  this  young  man  was 
on  his  death-bed,  and  desired  to  see  his  son  before  he 
died.  The  young  man  returned  and  may  be  now  a 
citizen  of  Alamance. 

And  what  of  the  officer  who  did  this  "hanging" 
without  a  shadow  of  authority  from  me  ?  I  ordered 
him  to  report  to  me  in  my  office  in  Raleigh  on  the 
6th  of  August,  1870.  I  had  meanwhile  stationed 
Captain  Hancock,  of  l^ewbern,  with  a  file  of  men  in 
an  adjoining  room,  and,  as  soon  as  the  officer  referred 
to  was  seated,  I  called  for  Captain  Hancock  and  said 
to  him :  ''  This  man  has  violated  my  orders.  Take 
him  to  camp,  and  confine  him  in  a  tent  under  guard, 
and  deny  him  the  privileges  usually  accorded  to 
officers."  And  then,  addressing  the  officer  himself,  I 
said :  "  There  are  grave  charges  against  you.  I  have 
directed  the  Adjutant-General  to  prefer  charges." 
You  will  be  tried,  and  cashiered  from  the  service. 
A  few  days  afterwards  the  Marshal  of  the  United 
States  demanded  him  on  a  civil  writ.  I  yielded  to 
the  civil  power,  and  he  was  taken  and  confined  in 
Wake  County  jail  until  released  by  Judge  Bond. 

I  beg  leave  to  repeat  what  I  have  heretofore  said, 
that  I  have  no  doubt  I  made  blunders  and  mistakes 
in  my  military  movement  in  1870.  But  there  is 
truth  in  the  old  adage,  "Desperate  diseases  require  •^ 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  89 

desperate  remedies."  And  I  again  declare  that  all 
I  did  in  that  movement  was  done  with  a  purpose  to 
protect  the  weak  and  unoffending  of  both  races,  to 
maintain  and  restore  the  majesty  of  the  civil  law, 
and  not  to  gratify  personal  feeling  on  my  part,  or 
to  promote  party  interests  or  party  ascendancy. 

I  have  now  done  with  my  brief  comments  on  Maj. 
Moore's  history.  I  think  I  have  written  in  a  kind 
and  considerate  spirit.  I  have  not  sought  to  depre- 
cate the  book  itself,  or  its  gifted  author.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  would  commend  him  for  his  industry  and 
zeal,  and  would  trust,  as  I  do,  that  he  will  grow  in 
knowledge  and  wisdom  as  he  grows  in  years.  I  be- 
lieve neither  in  Union  nor  in  Confederate  histories. 
True  history  is  many-sided,  but,  after  all,  is  there 
any  history  really  true  in  all  respects  save  the  Bible  ? 
Very  respectfully, 

W.  W.   HOLDEN. 

It  will  be  seen  in  the  first  letter  that  Major  Moore 
says  Mr.  Holden  had  advocated  North  Carolina's 
Avithdrawal  from  the  (Confederacy,  and  the  making 
of  separate  terms  with  the  powers  a,t  Washington. 
This  is  a  mistake.  The  Standard  nowhere  contained 
the  proposition  to  withdraw  from  the  Confederacy, 
but  to  endeavor  to  make  terms  for  peace  with  the 
powers  at  Washington.  The  foundation  stone  of  the 
Confederacy  was  the  right  of  secession  and  after 
July,  1863,  I  urged  this  State  alone  and  with  other 
Southern  States  should  negotiate  for  peace,  on  hon- 
orable terms  with  the  general  government.  I  never 
proposed  at  any  time  to  submit  to  the  general  gov- 


90  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

ernment  imconditionallj.    The  result  was,  as  I  stated 
in  my  first  letter,  ''both  classes  fought  to  the  last." 

The  distinguished  ex-member  of  the  Confederate 
Congress  from  this  State  referred  to  in  my  letter 
dated  ]S"ovember  29th,  1881,  was  Hon.  E.  R.  Bridg- 
ers,  now  deceased.  In  the  letter  dated  December 
6th,  1881,  allusion  is  made  by  Maj.  Moore  to  the 
case  of  Lt.  Col.  Bergen,  to  my  arrest  of  him  on  the 
6th  of  August,  1870,  and  what  I  said  to  him  in  my 
office. 

Before  organizing  my  troops  in  1870  under  the 
Shoffner  Act,  I  had  tendered  the  command  of  the 
Second  (2nd)  Regiment  to  Maj.  W.  W.  Rollins,  of 
Madison  County.  He  declined  to  accept  the  position, 
and  replied  advising  the  appointment  of  Col.  George 
W.  Kirk.  They  had  both  been  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  Kirk  as  Colonel,  and  Rollins  as  Lt. 
Colonel.  Towards  the  close  of  the  Avar  they  entered 
Asheville,  N^.  C,  and  had  control  of  the  town.  Col. 
Rollins,  who  is  still  living,  in  Madison  County, 
knew  Col.  Kirk  well  as  a  soldier,  and  as  a  man,  and 
endorsed  him  to  me.  Col.  Kirk,  when  he  appeared  in 
Raleigh  was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Bergen,  an  ex- 
officer  of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  at  Col. 
Kirk's  request  I  appointed  him  Lt.  Col. 

Col.  Wm.  J.  Clarke,  who  commanded  the  First 
(1st)  Regiment,  was  stationed  in  Raleigh,  and  Col. 
Kirk  in  Yanceyville,  in  command  of  the  Second 
(2nd)  Regiment.  Col.  Kirk,  on  account  of  his 
''name  of  terror"  was  sent  to  the  two  counties  de- 
clared in  a  state  of  insurrection.  My  great  desire 
was  to  avoid  a  conflict,  and  Kirk  himself  called  on 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  91 


me  after  the  work  was  done  and  said  to  me,  "  Gen- 
eral, I  am  glad  your  orders  have  been  executed  in 
Caswell  and  Alamance  Counties,  without  firing  a 
gun,  or  shedding  blood."  I  told  him  he  had  done  well, 
and  I  was  also  glad  that  no  one  had  been  hurt  or  in- 
jured. 

.Col.  Bergen,  as  I  have  already  said,  was  under 
arrest  on  a  civil  writ,  and  was  confined  in  Wake 
County  jail  until  released  by  Judge  Bond.  The 
morning  on  which  he  was  released  from  jail  he 
called  at  my  house  and  begged  me  to  loan  him  money 
to  pay  his  expenses  to  Washington  City,  where  his 
family  was.  While  in  jail  he  sent  for  me  to  come 
and  see  him.  I  had  declined  to  do  so.  I  also  de- 
clined to  loan  him  money.  I  said  to  him :  "Col.  Ber- 
gen, I  am  sorry  for  you,  but  I  cannot  aid  you,  as  I 
hear  other  prescripts  are  out  for  you,  and  I  am  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  and  cannot  aid  you  in  escaping 
from  them  by  loaning  you  funds."  James  H.  Jones, 
a  respectable  colored  man,  was  with  Col.  Bergen, 
and  urged  me  to  loan  him  money.  I  replied,  "I  do 
not  mind  the  money,  but  I  ought  not  to  aid  anyone  in 
escaping  from  the  hands  of  the  law."  After  this, 
when  in  Washington  City,  I  heard  that  President 
Grant  had  nominated  Col.  Bergen  to  the  Senate  for 
Consul  at  Pernambuco.  I  sent  the  President  word 
by  a  friend  who  Col.  Bergen  was,  and  he  withdrew 
the  nomination. 

Col.  Kirk  was  also  arrested  on  a  writ  issued  under 
the  United  States,  and  the  Marshal,  Col.  Carrow,  in- 
stead of  putting  him  in  jail  as  he  dfd  Bergen,  allowed 
him  to  remain  at  the  residence  on  Hargett  street  of 


92  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

Mr.  John  H.  Renfrew.  They  were  both  held  in  cus- 
tody until  released  by  Judge  Bond.  I  called  to  see 
Col.  Kirk  several  times.  He  told  me  he  had  drawn 
funds  from  the  State  to  pay  for  his  officers  and  men, 
and  that  neglecting  his  own  interests  he  suddenly 
found  the  appropriation  of  $10,000  exhausted,  and 
the  State  in  debt  to  him  $500.00  (five  hundred). 
His  wife  and  his  two  little  boys  were  with  him.  I 
gave  him  $140.00  from  my  o^\m  pocket  to  carry  them 
to  Freedom,  Tenn.  He  left  at  midnight  on  the  day 
he  was  released,  walked  twelve  miles  to  a  depot  for 
personal  safety,  and  there  took  the  cars.  I  might 
have  dra\vn  $500.00  to  pay  him  what  was  due  him, 
but  did  not  do  it.  It  had  been  with  great  difficulty 
that  I  had  succeeded  in  paying  the  troops  what  they 
had  justly  earned. 

James  E.  Boyd,  esq.,  was  arrested  at  Graham 
by  my  orders.  He  was  a  Democratic  candidate  for 
the  House  of  Commons  from  Alamance.  I  requested 
him  to  report  to  me  at  Raleigh.  I  told  him  I  did  not 
wish  him  to  criminate  himself.  I  accorded  to  him 
all  his  legal  and  constitutional  rights,  and  told  him 
I  wished  him  to  aid  me  in  exposing  and  exploding  the 
secret  political  organization.  I  desired  to  punish  no 
one  myself,  but  simply  to  expose  and  break  up  the 
organization.  Mr.  Boyd  acted  throughout  the  part 
of  an  honorable  man. 

Jasper  !N^.  Wood  was  also  arrested  and  ordered  to 
Raleigh  by  me.  He  denied  at  first  that  he  was  a  Ku- 
Klux.  The  next  day  he  confessed  that  he  was.  His 
confession  was  written  out  by  Colonel  Clarke  and 
signed  by  him  with  Clarke  and  Douglas  as  witnesses. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  93 


Mr.  Wood  was  released  and  allowed  to  return  home 
to  his  family.  After  he  had  reached  home,  his  wife 
wrote  me  a  letter  tendering  her  thanks  for  the  kind 
manner  in  which  I  had  treated  him.  I  paid  his 
board  at  the  E'ational  Hotel  from  my  own  pocket. 
This  letter  addressed  to  me  by  Mrs.  Wood  was  handed 
in  1870  to  Capt.  Tom  Evans,  of  the  Hillsboro  or 
Milton  Chronicle,  to  be  published,  but  it  has  not  yet 
appeared. 


CHAPTEE  IV. 
GOVERNOR  UNDER  THE  RECONSTRUCTION  ACTS 

REMINISEXCES    OF    EARLY    LIFE PROTEST    OF    GOV- 
ERNOR  WORTH PROCLAMATIONS   REGARDING   THE 

KU    KLUX THE    SHOFFNER    ACT CORRESPOND* 

ENCE    WITH    CAPTAIN    PRIDE    JONES EXAMPLES 

OF  EXECUTIVE   CLEMENCY. 

I  am  now  an  old  man.  I  have  passed  my  limit  of 
manly  life,  three  score  years  and  ten.  I  came  to 
Raleigh  in  the  year  1836,  a  lad,  not  quite  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  began  work  in  the  old  Raleigh  Star 
,  office,  still  standing,  as  a  typesetter,  or  compositor. 
I  was  not  a  regular  journeyman  printer,  for  I  had  not 
learned  to  lock  up  forms  or  do  job  printing.  I  was 
only  a  very  swift  compositor.  I  remained  in  the 
Star  office,  boarding  in  the  family  of  the  Editor,  the 
Rev.  Thomas  J.  Lemay,  for  more  than  four  years.  I 
was  a  close,  hard  student  of  books  and  men.  During 
the  period  I  read  law,  mainly  at  night  after  the  la- 
bors of  the  day  were  over,  and  on  the  1st  day  of 
January,  1841,  I  obtained  license  in  the  County 
Courts,  the  Supreme  Court  consisting  then  of  Chief 
Justice  Ruffin  and  Judges  Gaston  and  Daniel. 

Mr.  Henry  Watkins  Miller,  a  young  lawyer,  loaned 
me  the  law  books  and  told  me  what  to  read.  Mr. 
Hugh  McQueen,  of  Chatham  County,  was  employed 
by  Mr.  Lemay  as  Editor  of  the  Star.     They  were 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  95 

both  kind  friends  to  me,  and  encouraged  me  very 
much  in  my  studies.  I  had  no  time  to  have  the  ben- 
efit of  an  examination  at  their  hands.  I  was  poor 
and  unknown  and  very  ambitious.  Indeed,  I  seemed 
to  consume  Blackstone.  In  the  class  in  which  I 
passed  before  the  judges  were  Messrs.  Calvin  H. 
Wiley,  deceased,  Robert  W.  Lassiter,  of  Granville, 
and  George  Davis,  of  ISTew  Hanover,  now  living. 
There  were  twenty  in  the  class,  now  nearly  all  dead. 
The  day  we  passed  examination  was  Saturday.  The 
next  Monday  morning  I  met  an  old  friend.  Captain 
Thomas  G.  Scott,  then  Postmaster  here.  He  was 
boarding  at  Mrs.  Taylor's,  and  so  was  Judge  Gaston. 
He  stopped  me  and  said,  ''Young  man,  I  heard  just 
now  at  the  breakfast  table,  from  Judge  Gaston,  a 
good  word  for  you."  I  said,  ''Captain  Scott,  what 
was  it?"  He  said,  "The  Judge  said  the  class  of  stu- 
dents who  on  Saturday  last  applied  for  license  was 
a  good  class,  and  the  printer  was  among  the  fore- 
most." This  remark  of  Judge  Gaston  did  me  good 
for  years.  I  went  to  the  bar  in  Raleigh,  and,  as  was 
the  custom,  I  was  invited  by  Mr.  George  Washington 
Haywood,  who  was  County  Attorney,  to  address  the 
Grand  Jury  at  that  term.  Of  course,  I  was  a(diffi- 
den^  young  man,  and  had  had  no  training  as  a  public 
speaker,  and  the  County  Court  was  then  a  very 
imposing  body,  and  had  a  strong  bar.  I  stood  up  and 
talked  off  my  speech,  which  I  had  carefully  written, 
and  which  was  full  of  laAv  terms,  with  such  self- 
possession  and  acquracy  as  to  avoid  a  failure.  Mr. 
William  H.  Hayivood,  Jr.,  who  seemed  to  hear  me 
attentively,  said  afterward  to  Mr.  James  B.  Shepard, 


96  jMe:moiks  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

who  said  to  me,  '^  Holden,  Mr.  Haywood  says  you  are 
a  clever  young  man.''  I  did  not  perceive  the  full 
meaning  of  the  word  ^'clever/'  when  Mr.  Shepard 
added,  '^Oh,  he  meant  this,  that  you  are  a  young 
man  of  promise,  using  the  word  clever  as  it  is  used 
in  England."  This  also  greatly  encouraged  me. 
Hence  I  have  always  been  a  friend  to  young  men 
and  helped  them  whenever  I  could. 

The  very  best  charge  to  a  grand  jury  which  I  have 
heard  from  a  member  of  the  bar  was  that  by  Mr. 
Kemp  P.  Battle  subsequently  in  the  same  court. 

At  the  June  term  of  Granville  County  Court  of 
the  same  year,  I  repeated  my  charge  to  the  Grand 
Jury  of  Granville  County. 

On  the  second  day  of  April,  1882,  nearly  eight 
years  since,  I  was  paralyzed.  By  the  blessing 
of  God  I  had  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to  write 
clearly  and  legibly  for  four  years,  and  since  that 
time  my  physical  weakness  from  paralysis  has  so 
grown  upon  me  that  what  I  write  cannot  be  read, 
consequently  I  dictate  this  paper,  and  my  daughter 
writes  it  down.  I  state  this  that  the  reader  may  be 
aware  of  my  difficulty,  owing  to  my  infirmity. 
But  I  thank  God  that  my  mind  is  as  strong  as  ever. 

On  the  first  day  of  June,  1843,  I  became  the 
owner  and  Editor  of  the  North  Carolina  Standard. 
I  was  still  poor.  I  went  in  debt  for  the  purchase  of 
that  paper,  $2,000.  The  Democratic  Party  was  not 
more  than  eight  thousand  in  number.  In  a  social 
sense  the  Deinocrats  of  the  State  were  regarded  as 
no  better  than  the  scala\vags  of  modern  times.  The 
Whigs  were  mainly  in  the  towns  and  villages,  and  it 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  97 


was  claimed  that  they  possessed  a  large  portion  of 
all  the  ''intelligence  and  all  the  decency/'  while  the 
great  bulk  of  the  Democrats  were,  in  the  eye  of  soci- 
ety, ignorant  and  awk_ward.  The  Democrats,  too, 
were  understood  to  be  opposed  to  common  schools  and 
internal  improvements,  while  the  Whigs  were  the 
liberals  and  in  favor  of  both.  Since  the  remodeling 
of  the  Constitution  in  1835  the  State  had  been  Whig, 
and  the  prospect  of  success  by  the  Democratic  Party 
was  dim  and  uncertain.  My  subscription  list  at  the 
time  was  eight  hundred,  and  my  advertising  patron- 
age about  two  columns.  The  circulation  of  the  paper 
was  greatly  reduced,  and  business  men,  especially  the 
Whigs,  did  not  wish  to  support  the  organ  of  the 
Democratic  Party.  For  six  months  the  subscription 
list  stood  still,  neither  advancing  or  receding.  Mean- 
while I  had  engaged  several  very  able  writers  who 
wrote  anonymously  for  the  paper,  and  I  had  also 
written  the  numbers  for  the  paper  known  as  the 
"Mysteries  of  Coondom  Eevealed,"  which  were  de- 
signed, as  they  did,  to  set  forward  in  a  ridiculous 
light  the  leaders  of  the  Whig  Party.  It  is  true  I 
was  comparatively  a  stranger  to  my  readers  and  to 
the  people  of  the  State,  but  at  the  end  of  the  six 
months  referred  to  I  perceived  a  sudden  and  great 
quickening  in  my  subscription.  I  realized  the  fact 
that  the  Democratic  Party  trusted  me  thoroughly 
and  fully.  Within  seven  years  after  I  had  taken 
charge  of  the  Standard  I  had  paid  my  debt  of  $2,000, 
mentioned  heretofore.  I  had  paid  for  my  house  and 
lot,  $1,350 ;  bought  a  new  outfit  for  my  paper  which 
presented  the  finest  appearance  of  any  sheet  in  ^N'orth 


98  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holder 

Carolina ;  and  had  on  deposit  in  the  Cape  Fear  Bank 
$5,000  with  which  to  build  my  present  residence. 
After  this,  under  Reid  and  Bragg  and  Vance,  I  had 
the  public  printing,  and  my  office  cleared  between 
1850  and  1860  $8,000  per  annum.  I  was  thus  won- 
derfully prospered  and  blessed. 

The  Democratic  Party  of  the  State  with  Reid  as 
Governor  was  greatly  advanced,  and  prospered.  This 
continued  w^hile  Whi^ggery  declined.  By  1857,  be- 
cause of  the  sectional  contest  for  the  presidency  in 
1856  between  Fremont  and  Buchanan,  a  marked 
change  in  politics,  especially  in  the  South,  was  ap- 
parent, and  the  Democratic  Party  was  thought 
to  be  truer  to  slavery  than  the  Whig  Party,  and  the 
result  was  that  the  Democratic  Party  constantly  in- 
creased in  numbers,  until  at  last  it  evinced  its 
ascendancy  over  all  opposition  by  the  action  of  the 
Charleston  and  Baltimore  conventions.  It  had  had 
the  Union  of  the  States  in  especial  charge  and  keep- 
ing, but  by  its  action  just  mentioned  it  paved  the 
way  for  its  temporary  destruction. 

In  1868  under  the  Reconstruction  Acts,  I  was 
elected  Governor  for  four  years  by  the  following  vote : 
Holden,  92,235;  Thomas  S.  Ashe,  of  Anson  County, 
73,594;  Holden's  majority,  18,641.  I  did  not  seek 
the  nomination.  It  came  to  me  freely  and  unan- 
imously. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  July,  1868,  I  delivered  my 
inaugural  speech  to  a  vast  audience  in  Capitol 
Square.    In  this,  among  other  things,  I  said :  ^ 

'^  The  Constitution  provides  for  organizing  and 
arming   the   militia   to   ^  execute   the   law,   suppress 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  99 

riots   or    insurrections    and    repel    invasions.'      The 
opinion  of  Washington,  uttered  in  1790,  that  a  ^  free  - 
people  ought  not  only  to  be  armed,  but  disciplined/ 
and  that   a  well  organized  mijitia  is  certainly   an 
object  of  primary  importance,   whether  viewed   in 
reference  to  the  national  security,  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  community,  or  to  the  preservation  of  order.' 
is  not  less  weighty  or  important  now  than  it  was  then. 
The  militia  should  be  organized  at  once.     It  is  the 
duty  of  the  Executive  to  see  that  the  laws  are  faith- 
fully executed  and  to  preserve  peace  among  the  peo- 
ple.    This  duty  will  be  performed  promptly,  fear- 
lessly  and   firmly.      Every   citizen   must   submit   to 
lawful  authority,  or  refusing  to  do  so,  must  expect 
the  penalties  of  the  violated  law.     In  the  language 
of  our  great  General,  second  only  to  him  who  was 
'first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of 
his   countrymen,' — '  Let    us     have     Peace  !'     The 
sword,  which  would  not  have  been  drawn  but  for  the 
criminal  folly  of    the    recently    insurgent    States, 
should  never  again  be  wielded  by  Americans  against 
Americans.     Every  interest  that  is  dear  to  us,  and 
every  hope  that  we  may  indulge  for  the  future,  is 
indissolubly  bound  up  with  peace  and  tranquility 
among  ourselves.    But  there  can  be  no  peace  without 
law,  and  there  can  be  no  efficacy  in  law  without  obedi- 
ence.   The  law  is  over  all.    The  poor  and  the  humble 
should  be  protected  to  as  full  an  extent  as  others. 
They  need  more  than  others  this  protection.     Every 
one  must  be  free  to  use  what  is  his  own,  not  trespass- 
ing on  the  rights  of  others ;    to  follow  his  particular 
calling  or  employment;    to  labor,  and  to  enjoy  the 


100  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

fruits  of  his  labor;  to  speak  freely  his  sentiments 
and  to  vote  as  he  pleases,  and  not  to  be  injured  or 
questioned  by  any  one  for  doing  any  of  these  things. 
The  people  of  ^orth  Carolina  are  proverbial  for 
their  law-abiding  disposition.  It  is  not  apprehended 
that  disturbances  will  arise,  or  that  combinations 
will  be  formed  to  resist  the  laws ;  yet  it  is  known  that 
many  hold  the  opinion  that  the  reconstruction  laws 
of  the  United  States  are  unconstitutional,  and  there- 
fore null  and  void ;  and  it  may  be  that  this  may  lead, 
if  not  to  open  resistance,  to  a  forcible  denial  in  some 
localities  of  the  rights  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution 
of  the  State,  formed  and  adopted  in  pursuance  of 
said  laws.  It  is  also  known  that  a  disposition  exists, 
among  no  inconsiderable  portion  of  our  population, 
to  oppress  the  poor  whites  and  the  colored  race  on 
account  of  their  political  opinions.  The  magistrates 
and  the  courts  will  be  sustained  by  the  whole  power 
of  the  State,  in  such  action  as  may  be  deemed  neces- 
sary to  m'otect  those  who  may  be  thus  wronged  or 
oppressed;  and  the  magistrates  and  the  courts  will 
be  sustained  by  the  whole  power  of  the  State  in  giv- 
ing effect  to  the  Constitution  itself,  as  having  been 
fairly,  justly  and  properly  adopted,  and  as  binding 
in  all  respects  on  every  citizen  until  changed  or 
modified  in  the  mode  prescribed  in  the  instrument 
itself.  Differences  in  political  sentiment  are  to  be 
expected,  and  are  not  calculated  in  themselves  to  en- 
danger the  State;  but  a  purpose  to  subvert  the  Gov- 
ernment, on  the  assumption  that  it  is  not  properly 
derived,  has  not  been  constitutionally  adopted,  and 
is  illegitimate  and  not  binding,  should  be  narrowly 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  101 

watched  and  promptly  checked  on  the  first  manifesta- 
tion of  any  overt  act  on  the  part  of  those  cherishing 
such  purpose.  The  Constitution  of  this  State  is, 
under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the 
supreme  organic  law.  The  Government  which  it  es- 
tablishes, and  the  laws  passed  in  pursuance  of  it,  will 
be  maintained  and  enforced.  To  render  resistence, 
therefore,  impracticable,  if  not  impossible,  and  to 
maintain  the  peace  by  executing  the  laws  in  a  spirit 
of  justice  to  all,  it  is  deemed  essential  that  a  portion 
of  the  militia  should  be  well  disciplined  and  armed, 
and  should  be  thus  ready  at  any  moment,  under  the 

orders  of  the  commander-in-chief,  for  active  duty. 

*****         "^ 

'^  Fellow-citizens,  let  us  come  out  of  the  caverns  of 
the  past,  and  forgetting  whatever  is  not  worthy  to  be 
remembered,  let  us  resolve  to  do  our  duty  in  our  day 
and  time,  as  North  iCarolinians,  as  Americans.  In 
a  climate  and  with  a  soil  for  which  Providence  has 
done  so  much,  let  us  resolve  to  do  something  for  our- 
selves and  our  children.  Let  us  devote  ourselves  to 
the  arts  of  peace.  Let  us  improve  this  great  inherit- 
ance. Let  our  children  and  our  children's  children, 
when  they  shall  come  to  take  our  places,  say  of  us, 
'  Our  ancestors  remembered  and  did  what  was  wise, 
and  what  was  good  for  us.  Behold,  the  beautiful 
country  they  have  left  to  us !  the  just  and  equal  laws 
that  are  over  us,  and  the  hope  that  their  work  has 
made  strong  in  us  that  we  can  do  even  more  for  our 
children  than  they  have  done  for  us.'  Let  us  at  least 
unite  upon  the  one  great  object  of  improving  and 
building  up  the  State.     Let  us  welcome  capital  and 


102  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  IToldex 


immigration,  furnishing  as  thej  will  the  indispens- 
able means  to  our  progress  and  prosperity.  Preju- 
dices growing  out  of  nativity,  or  out  of  the  rebellion, 
are  not  worthy  to  be  cherished.  Let  us  discard  such 
prejudices.  We  are  once  more  Americans  —  all. 
Let  us  receive  with  courtesy  and  kindness  every  cit- 
izen of  the  Xorthern  or  Eastern  States  who  may  cast 
his  lot  among  us,  and  measure  him  as  we  measure 
others,  according  to  his  personal  and  moral  worth. 
We  cannot  hope  to  improve  our  condition  if  we  repel 
capital  and  immigration,  either  by  so  acting  as  to 
produce  the  belief  that  it  is  not  safe  to  settle  among 
us  on  account  of  the  want  of  law  and  order,  or  un- 
pleasant, because  of  rude  or  uncivil  treatment  to  the 
immigrant.  It  should  be  remembered  that  our  an- 
cestors were,  originally,  as  much  'adventurers'  as 
others.  Of  the  three  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  for  this  State,  neither  was  a  native. 
Richard  Caswell,  one  of  our  greatest  Governors,  and 
sometimes  called  the  Washington  of  North  Caro- 
lina, was  not  a  native;  nor  was  Joseph  Caldwell, 
who  built  up  our  University  and  led  the  way  with 
Murphy,  Yancey,  Stanly,  Saunders  and  others  in 
internal  improvements  and  public  instruction. 

''We  want  the  best  people  from  Europe,  and  from 
all  parts  of  the  United  States  to  settle  among  us. 
It  is  men  that  make  a  State.  Let  them  come,  with 
their  enterprise  and  money,  their  muscle  and  intelli- 
gence ;  and  when  they  get  here  let  the  rivalry  be  as 
to  who  shall  do  the  most  for  the  good  and  the  glory 
of  our  beloved  State. 

"The  government  of  the  United  States,  in  the  pros- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdeis-  103 

ecution  of  the  war  to  suppress  the  rebellion,  and  in 
the  measures  it  has  adopted  to  reconstruct  the  Union, 
has  exhibited  extraordinary  clemency  and  magna- 
nimity. It  has  taken  no  vengeance  for  the  past,  but 
has  required  only  security  for  the  future.  It  has 
deprived  no  man  of  his  property  save  for  war  pur- 
poses during  the  progress  of  the  war;  it  has  exiled 
no  man;  it  has  punished  no  man  for  the  crime  of 
rebellion.  It  has  simply  required  that  those  who 
have  been  in  rebellion  should  renew  their  allegiance, 
and  that  such  guards  should  be  placed  in  the  organic 
laws  of  the  States  and  the  nation  as  to  prevent  future 
rebellion.  Instead  of  defining  or  restricting  suffrage 
permanently,  it  has  left  it  with  the  respective  States 
to  be  determined  and  settled  as  they  may  choose ;  and 
this  State,  following  in  full  measure  the  example  of 
the  national  government,  has  made  suffrage  free  to  all. 
^'But  the  war  to  suppress  the  rebellion  has,  in  its 
results,  necessarily  changed  as  it  has  settled  the 
theory  of  construction  previously  held  by  a  large 
portion  of  the  people.  Our  liberties  have  been  con- 
solidated, and  the  Union  can,  in  no  event,  be  dis- 
solved. It  has  to  endure  always.  It  must  increase, 
but  never  decrease.  For  all  great  national  purposes 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  is  over  the 
States,  and  paramount  to  the  States,  and  the  allegi- 
ance of  the  citizen  is  first  due  to  it.  There  is  no  ap- 
peal from  the  will  of  the  nation,  expressed  by  a  ma- 
jority. Armed  resistance  to  the  national  authority, 
whether  by  individuals  of  their  own  accord,  or  by 
individuals  acting  under  supposed  State  authority 
or  command,  is  treason,  and  must  be  so  held  and 


104  Memoirs  of  W.  "W.  Holdex 

treated.  The  doctrine  of  State's  riohts,  as  held  bv 
Mr.  Calhoun  and  his  followers,  has  ceased  to  have 
validity  or  vitality;  and  the  teachings  and  doctrines 
of  Washington,  Hamilton,  Webster,  Jackson,  Clay 
and  Lincoln  now  constitute  the  true,  and  the  only 
safe  theory,  of  construction.  This  has  been  settled, 
under  Providence,  by  the  result  of  a  solemn  appeal 
to  arms  among  brethren ;  and  he  Avho  would  unsettle 
this  theory,  thereby  rendering  it  possible  that  seces- 
sion should  ever  again  be  attempted,  is  no  friend  to 
his  species,  his  State,  or  to  the  general  government 
of  his  country.  The  government  of  the  United  States 
is  no  longer  a  feeble  hmiinary,  receiving  and  dispens- 
ing light  to  surrounding  planets ;  but  it  is  a  full  sun, 
burning  with  superior  splendor,  pervading  and  hold- 
ing up  to  itself  the  entire  system,  and  kindling  new 
planets  into  life  and  motion.  How  beneficent,  how 
glorious,  how  far-reaching  will  be  the  light  it  will 
dispense  when  it  reaches  its  meridian,  we  shall  not 
live  to  see,  but  the  generations  that  come  after  us 
will  walk  in  that  light,  and  be  contented,  prosperous 
and  happy.  In  the  fullness  of  their  gratitude  they 
will  thank  God,  as  we  do,  that  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  delivered  from  the  perils  of  rebellion, 
and  reconstructed  on  the  basis  of  the  equal  rights  of 
all,  is  as  indestructible  as  the  earth  itself,  and  as  se- 
cure in  its  position  and  in  the  exercise  of  all  its  great 

powers,  as 

*  The  iS'ortliern  star. 
Of  whose  true,  fixed  and  resting  quality, 
There  is  no  fellow  in  the  firmament.' 

^'  I  have  thus,   fellow  citizens,   stated   briefly   and 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  105 


plainly  tlie  great  principles  contained  in  our  State 
Constitution,  and  have  frankly  announced  the  policy 
which  will  characterize  my  administration.  Cherish- 
ing neither  malice  nor  resentment  for  anything 
which  has  occurred  in  the  past,  I  shall  endeavor  to 
do  my  duty.  I  shall  keep  constantly  in  view  the  wel- 
fare of  Is^orth  Carolina.  I  love  the  Union  because 
it  is  the  first,  the  last,  the  only  hope  of  my  State ;  and 
I  love  my  State,  because  her  people  have  been  good 
and  kind  to  me,  and  because  her  sky  is  above  my 
home,  as  it  will  be  above  my  grave.  If  I  have  ene- 
mies, that  does  not  make  me  an  enemy  to  my  State, 
nor  move  me  to  a  course  of  action  based  on  resent- 
ment or  revenge.  I  follow  the  principles  of  Wash- 
ixGTOx,  who  founded,  and  of  Lincoln^  who  saved 
the  Republic ;  and  when  these  principles  cease  to 
lead,  I  shall  cease  to  follow.  May  the  God  of  our 
fathers  have  us  in  His  holy  keeping ;  may  He  govern, 
and  not  we ;  and  may  the  future  of  our  beloved  State 
be  as  bright  and  glorious  as  the  last  seven  years  have 
been  disastrous  and  unhappy." 

It  will  be  seen,  that  although  at  that  time  I  had  not 
read  Gov.  Worth's  paper,  I  had  characterized  it  in  ap- 
propriate terms.  I  had  ^^arned  the  people  against  the 
absurd  assumption  of  Gov.  Worth,  that  the  naw  State 
government  was  notjegal  or.  binding. 

Having  thus  given  my  views  and  the  principles  on 
which  I  proposed  to  conduct  the  state  government,  I 
also,  in  my  message  to  the  two  houses  of  the  Legis- 
lature under  date  of  November  18th,  1869,  used  the 
following  language  looking  to  the  relief  by  Congress 


106  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

of  all  persons  laboring  under  disabilities.  It  will  be 
seen  that  my  language  covers  all  from  the  loftiest, 
that  is  Jefferson  Davis,  to  the  most  obscure  constable 
or  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

"  By  the  fourteenth  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  certain  persons  in  the  re- 
cently insurgent  States  are  debarred  the  privilege 
of  holding  office  at  the  hands  of  their  fellow  citizens ; 
but  the  Congress  may,  at  pleasure,  remove  such  dis- 
ability. There  are  many  citizens  of  States  which  did 
not  engage  in  rebellion,  who  are  technically  exempt 
from  this  disability,  but  who  were  not  more  loyal  to 
the  government,  and  are  not  now  more  loyal  than 
many  citizens  of  this  State  who  are  only  technically 
excluded  from  holding  office.  I  am  not  able  to  per- 
cieve  that  a  citizen  of  a  State  that  did  not  engage  in 
rebellion  who  s;yinpathized  with  the  pretended  Con- 
federacy, and  did  all  he  could  to  discourage  volunteer- 
ing and  to  paralyze  the  national  arms,  is  more  loyal 
or  more  deserving  of  consideration  than  the  Southern 
Unionist  who  occupied  some  small  office,  not  with  a 
view  to  aid  the  rebellion,  but  merely  to  escape  con- 
scription. There  are  several  thousands  of  persons  in 
this  State  of  the  latter  class,  who  were  at  one  time  su- 
premely attached  to  the  national  government,  and  who 
endeavored  in  every  conceivable  way  to  avoid  fighting 
against  the  government  of  the  United  States,  but 
who  are  now  soured  and  distressed,  because,  by  the 
fourteenth  amendment  the  very  means  they  adopted 
to  avoid  doing  violence  to  their  judgment  and  con- 
sciences have  been  used  to  exclude  them  from  office. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  107 


Every  citizen  of  this  class,  and  every  loyal  citizen,  is 
entitled  to  be  at  once  relieved  by  the  Congress.   There 
are  several  thousands  of  others  in  the  State,  who  are 
either  indifferent  to  the  government  or  opposed  to 
the  acts  of  Congress  by  which  the  State  was  recon- 
structed.    These  persons  have  been  sorely  punished 
for   their   acts   of   rebellion.      Even   if   disposed   to 
thwart  the  action  of  the  Federal  or  State  govern- 
ments, they  are  powerless  to  do  so.     They  are  chafed 
by  the  reflection  that  their  former  slaves  can  hold 
office,  while  they  are  excluded,  and  their  reflection 
is  magnified  in  their  minds  into  the  belief  that  the 
national  government  is  disposed  to  pursue  and  pun- 
ish them,  simply  because  they  had  taken  an  oath  to 
support  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  before 
they  engaged  in  rebellion,   while  the  obligation  to 
support  that  instrument  was  equally  binding  upon 
all,  and  thousands  upon  thousands  who  never  took 
that  oath,  but  who  were  as  deeply  and  as  bitterly 
immersed   in   the   rebellion   as   they  were,    are   not 
banned  or  excluded.     The  nation  can  afford  to  be 
magnanimous.     After  nine  years  of  rebellion,  and 
strife,  and  civil  discord,  and  social  disruption  and 
bitterness,   a  very  large  majority  of  the  people  of 
E'orth  Carolina  long  for  peace,  and  harmony,  and 
good  will,  and  security  of  life  and  property.     But 
this  matter  is  in  the  hands  of  Congress.     The  States 
have  no  control  over  it.     Let  the  Nation  show  its 
power  everywhere  to  maintain  the  laws,  to  punish 
those  who  may  resist  its  authority,  and  to  sustain  the 
reconstructed  States  in  securing  to  their  citizens  as 
thorough  freedom  and  as  profound  peace  and  quiet 


108  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

as  exist  in  other  States ;  but  it  at  the  same  time 
exhibits  that  magnanimity  and  mercy  towards  all, 
which,  after  nine  years  of  conflict  and  strife  and  ill 
will  would  so  admirably  grace  the  freest,  the  proud- 
est and  the  greatest  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"  In  conclusion,  Gentlemen,  allow  me  to  say  that  I 
trust  your  deliberations  will  result  in  good  to  the 
whole  people  of  the  State.  Let  our  trust  be  in  God, 
who  governs  absolutely  in  the  affairs  of  nations,  that 
He  will  overrule  all  our  councils  for  good,  and  that 
He  will  shower  his  choicest  blessings  on  our  beloved 
State." 

On  the  4th  day  of  July,  1868,  after  the  delivery 
of  my  Inaugural,  and  after  the  remarks  of  Lieut. 
Gov.  Caldwell  and  Judge  Reade,  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  I  repaired  alone  to  the  Executive  office 
to  receive  from  Gov.  Worth  the  keys  of  the 
office.  I  found  him  in  the  office  with  his 
private  Secretary,  Wm.  II.  Bagley,  and  one  of 
his  pages,  Mr.  Johnson  Busbee.  He  received  me 
politely  but  curtly,  and  offered  me  the  folloAv- 
ing  paper  which  he  asked  to  be  recorded  in  the 
Governor's  book.  He  had  ceased  then  to  be  Gov- 
ernor, and  had  therefore  no  right  to  have  the  paper 
recorded.  I  treated  him  courteously  and  gently, 
because  of  his  advanced  age,  and  because  he  had  been 
the  Governor  of  the  State.  He  said  to  me,  ''You  have 
no  right  here  as  Governor,  your  election  is  not  valid, 
and  I  would  resist  you  if  I  had  the  power,  but  as  I 
have  not,  I  surrender  the  office  to  you  under  military 
duress."     I  told  him  of  course  I  would  not  argue  the 


Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden  109 


question,  because  it  was  settled  already  by  the  action 
of  Congress  and  tlie  federal  government.  He  then 
said,  ^'  You  have  treated  me  rudely."  I  replied : 
^'  Governor,  I  have  had  no  intention  to  treat  you 
rudely  or  unkindly.  I  have  not  been  to  your  office 
simply  because  I  was  not  invited."  ^^  Well  sir,"  said 
he,  ^'you  have  called  me  a  liar."  I  replied :  ^'  I  am 
sorry  to  hear  you  say  so,  and  I  think  you  must  be  mis- 
taken. Your  age  and  your  position  render  it  very 
unlikely  that  I  would  insult  you."  I  said  to  him  at 
last :  ''  Governor  Worth,  if  you  are  correct  in  your 
assumption  that  I  have  called  you  a  liar  I  think  I  can 
so  refresh  your  memory  that  you  will  percieve  that 
you  called  me  a  liar  first.  Do  you  recollect.  Sir,  in 
April,  1867,  after  the  passage  of  the  Keconstruction 
Act  by  Congress  and  the  Military  Bill  designed  to 
put  those  acts  in  execution,  you  and  Mr.  Pell  and 
Mr.  Gales,  and  Mr.  Eichard  H.  Battle  called  a 
meeting  at  the  northern  front  of  the  Capitol,  and  that 
all  of  you  addressed  it  ?  It  was  understood,  though 
it  was  not  said  in  so  many  words,  that  you  were 
there  to  carry  out  the  act  of  Congress.  I  was  pres- 
ent but  silent,  because  it  was  your  meeting.  You 
had  a  copy  of  my  paper  in  your  hand  and  read  from 
it  and  said,  '  The  editor  knew  when  he  penned  that, 
that  it  was  a  falsehool.'  "  To  this  he  made  no  answer. 
He  then  spoke  of  certain  measures  that  were  pending 
and  said  he  would  be  glad  to  call  and  consult  with  me 
about  them.  I  told  him  I  would  be  glad  to  see  him 
and  consult  with  him  on  public  affairs.  He  then 
arose  to  go.  He  looked  for  his  pony  in  the  yard,  and 
said,  "  They  have  taken  my  pony,  too."    I  said,  "  'Eo, 


110  Memoiks  of  W.  W.  Holden 

Governor,  your  pony  is  just  beyond  the  statue  of 
Washington."  I  walked  out  with  him  beyond  the 
statue  and  shook  hands,  and  he  mounted  and  rode 
home. 

I  now  give  the  paper  Avhich  he  asked  to  be  re- 
corded : 

^^  State  of  !N"orth  Carolina,  Executive  Department, 

"  Ealeigh,  July  1,  1868. 
Gov.  W.  W.  Holden,  Raleigh,  N.  C: 

'^SiR : — Yesterday  morning  I  was  verbally  notified 
by  Chief  Justice  Pearson  that  in  obedience  to  a  tel- 
egram from  General  Canby,  he  would  to-day,  at  10 
a.  m.,  administer  to  you  the  oath  required  prelim- 
inary to  your  entering  upon  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  Civil  Governor  of  the  State;  and  that, 
therefore,  you  would  demand  possession  of  my  office. 

^'  I  intimated  to  the  Judge  my  opinion  that  such 
proceeding  was  premature,  even  under  the  Recon- 
struction legislation  of  Congress,  and  that  I  should 
probably  decline  to  surrender  the  office  to  you. 

"At  sundo^vn,  yesterday  evening,  I  received  from 
Colonel  Williams,  Commandant  of  this  Military 
Post,  an  extract  from  the  General  Order  l^o.  120,  of 
General  Canby,  as  follows: 

^  Headquarters  Second  Military  District, 

Charleston,  S.  C,  June  30,  1868. 

'  General  Order  No.  120. 

[extract.] 
^  To  facilitate  the  organization  of  the  new  State 
governments,  the  following  appointments  are  made: 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  111 

To  be  Governor  of  ^orth  Carolina,  W.  W.  Holden 
vice  Jonathan  Worth,  removed ;  to  be  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  N^orth  'Carolina,  Tod.  R.  Caldwell,  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor elect,  to  fill  an  original  vacancy  — 
to  take  effect  July  1,  1868,  on  the  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  x^orth  Carolina.' 

''  I  do  not  recognize  the  validity  of  the  last  election, 
under  which  you  and  those  co-operating  with  you 
claim  to  be  invested  with  the  civil  government  of  the 
State.  You  have  no  evidence  of  your  election  save 
the  certii/cate  of  a  Major  General  of  the  United 
States  army.  I  regard  all  of  you  as,  in  effect,  ap- 
pointees of  the  military  of  the  United  States,  and  not 
as  'deriving  your  powers  from  the  consent  of  those 
you  claim  to  govern.'  Knowing,  however,  that  you 
are  backed  up  by  military  force  here,  which  I  could 
not  resist  if  I  would,  I  do  not  deem  it  necessary  to 
offer  a  futile  opposition,  but  vacate  the  office  without 
the  ceremony  of  actual  eviction,  offering  no  further 
oppositon  than  this,  my  protest.  I  would  submit  to 
actual  expulsion  in  order  to  bring  before  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  the  question  as  to  the  con- 
stitutionality of  the  legislation  under  which  you  claim 
to  be  the  rightful  governor  of  the  State,  if  the  past 
action  of  that  tribunal  furnished  any  hope  of  a 
speedy  trial.  I  surrender  the  office  to  you  under 
what  I  deem  military  duress,  without  stopping,  as 
the  occasion  would  justify,  to  comment  upon  the 
singular  coincidence  that  the  present  State  Govern- 
ment is  surrendered  as  without  legality  to  him  whose 


112  Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden 

own  official  sanction,  but  three  years  ago,  declared  it 
valid. 

^'  I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Jonathan  Wokth^ 
Governor  of  Xortli  Carolina." 

I  had  known  Jonathan  Worth  a  long  time.  After 
I  had  taken  grounds  for  the  Union  in  1860  Mr. 
Worth  and  myself  were  political  friends.  During 
the  War,  towards  its  close,  I  invited  him  to  my 
house  one  night  to  meet  B.  F.  Moore,  and  Joseph  S. 
Cannon,  Esqs.,  to  advise  me  as  friends  whether  I 
should  continue  my  newspaper  or  suspend  it  for  a 
while.  They  all  concurred  in  the  advice  to  suspend, 
and  I  did  so  for  a  month  or  two.  I  was  induced  to 
do  so  by  apprehension  of  the  effect  produced  on  the 
Confederate  government  at  Richmond  by  the  mis- 
representations of  certain  persons  in  ]Srorth  Carolina 
as  to  the  course  of  the  Standard.  The  friends  whose 
advice  I  had  thus  asked  feared  that  I  could  not  con- 
tinue my  paper  as  an  independent  journal  without 
being  in  danger  of  arrest. 

Mr.  Worth  had  been  my  former  Treasurer,  and 
I  was  surprised  to  find  him  at  the  end  of  that  year 
opposing  me  for  Governor.  Our  rooms  were  oppo- 
site, and  I  saw  him  every  day,  and  yet  we  had  no 
conversation  on  the  subject.  He  had  been  a  useful 
and  faithful  public  officer. 

I  had  been  Provisional  Governor  for  seven  months. 
On  the  29th  day  of  December,  1865,  President  John- 
son retired  me  from  the  office,  and  accepted  Jonathan 
Worth,  chosen  by  the  people  in  my  place.     Under 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  113 

both  myself  in  1865  and  Governor  Worth  in  1866 
and  1867,  and  for  six  months  in  1868,  the  people  of 
I^orth  Carolina  had  had  a  government.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  President  Johnson  gave  place  cheerfully 
to  a  government  established  by  the  Congress.  Pro- 
visional, or  temporary  government  had  passed  away, 
and  the  government  for  the  future  was  to  be  a  per- 
manent one  as  before  the  war  and  was  to  endure 
forever.  ]^orth  Carolina  was  about  to  enter  upon 
a  career  as  a  self-governing  State,  as  the  equal  of 
^ew  York  or  Massachusetts. 

And  now  I  ask  the  reader  to  examine  carefully 
again  the  protest  of  Governor  Worth.  He  had  taken 
my  place  in  December  1865  just  as  cheerfully  and  as 
promptly  as  I  had  retired  from  it.  Suppose,  for  ex- 
ample, the  Hon.  Thomas  S.  Ashe  had  been  elected 
Governor  in  my  place,  would  not  Gov.  Worth  have 
yielded  to  him  at  once  ?  Would  not  his  Democratic 
friends  have  required  it  of  him  ?  But  instead  of  this, 
he  took  a  position  in  his  protest  that  rather  than 
have  a  Governor  chosen  by  the  Republican  vote,  he 
would  have  no  Governor  at  all.  Suppose  I  and  all 
those  chosen  with  me  under  the  Reconstruction  Acts 
had  heeded  his  protest  and  had  done  what  he  held  was 
right,  what  would  have  been  the  result  ?  There 
would  have  been  no  Executive  in  l^orth  Carolina ;  no 
Judicial  and  no  Legislative  departments;  no  law 
and  no  order ;  no  society ;  no  people  indeed,  but 
only  natural  law  and  the  rule  of  the  strongest  and 
the  worst.  Did  Gov.  Worth  and  his  friends  desire 
this  awful  condition  of  things  ?  Most  certainly  not. 
His  protest  was  hailed  and  approved  throughout  the 


114  Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden 

State  bj  his  partisan  friends,  and  to  this  day  there 
has  been  no  condemnation  of  it  in  so  many  words. 
But  no  such  state  of  things  as  this  would  have 
been  permitted  one  moment  by  the  federal  gov- 
ernment. Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens  had  proposed 
to  me  that  while  I  was  laboring  to  reconstruct 
the  State  on  the  white  basis,  to  consent  to 
agree  with  him  to  hold  this  State  and  all 
out-lying  States  under  military  rule  for  ten  years. 
During  this  period,  he  said,  the  negroes,  who  had 
never  taken  part  in  self-government,  would  be  in- 
structed and  fitted  for  citizenship;  the  people  of 
the  out-lying  States  would  have  territorial  govern- 
ments and  would  be  provided  for  by  Congress  as  the 
Territories  are,  and  at  the  end  of  the  ten  years  re- 
ferred to  frame  their  constitutions  as  States  and 
thus  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  I  objected  to  this 
most  strenuously.  He  said :  '^  Well,  I  will  present 
your  bills,  but  they  will  not  pass.  I  am  generally 
twelve  months  ahead  of  my  friends.  The  Senate  has 
already  voted  on  l^egro  suffrage,  and  there  were  only 
seven  Senators  recorded  for  it.  In  my  county  in 
Pennsylvania  there  are  fifteen  hundred  escaped 
slaves.  If  they  are  the  specimens  of  the  negroes  of 
the  South  they  are  not  qualified  to  vote.  Twelve 
months  hence  you  will  have  reconstruction  acts  with 
l^egro  suffrage."  * 

1  According  to  David  R.  Goodloe  Mr.  Holdon  and  John  Pool  went 
to  Washington  in  tho  winter  of  1866-67  and  advocated  the  recon- 
struction of  North  Carolina  without  negro  suffrage,  but  with  the 
disfranchisement  of  all  whites  who  could  not  swear  they  were  for 
the  Union  within  100  da.vs  after  Lincoln's  Amnesty  Proclamation 
of  1868.  A  plan  of  organization  on  this  basis  was  authorized  by 
them  in  a  bill.  This  account  of  Mr.  Goodloe  fits  in  with  the  re- 
marks of  Stevens  given  by  Gov.  Holden.  See  Biographical  History 
of  N.  C.     Vol.  1  ,  p.  197.      (Ed.) 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  115 

Within  three  months  after  my  inauguration,  I 
deemed  it  prudent  and  proper  to  issue  the  following 
proclamation : 

A  PROCLAMATION^ 

BY  HIS  EXCELLENCY^  THE  GOVERNOR  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA. 

"  Executive  Department, 
''  Ealeigh,  October  12th,  1868. 

^'  Information  has  been  received  at  this  department 
that  military  weapons,  such  as  repeating  rifles  of 
various  kinds,  have  been  imported  into  this  Sta^e, 
and  have  been  distributed  with  ammunition  and 
equipments  to  citizens  in  several  localities.  It  is 
believed  that  boxes  containing  arms,  ammunition  and 
equipments  are  concealed  in  divers  places,  ready  to 
be  distributed  as  opportunity  may  offer. 

^^  The  object  of  the  persons  thus  engaged  must  be 
either  to  subvert  the  government,  to  resist  the  consti- 
tuted authorities,  or  to  prevent  a  free  election  in  this 
State  on  the  third  day  of  next  month. 

''  The  government  of  l^orth  Carolina  has  been  law- 
fully and  constitutionally  established.  This  govern- 
ment has  been  freely  and  voluntarily  formed  by  a 
majority  of  the  citizens  in  pursuance  of  acts 
constitutionally  passed  by  the  Congress,  under 
which  my  immediate  predecessor  held  office 
from  the  2d  day  of  March,  1867,  to  the  first 
day  of  July,  1868.  The  constitutionality  of 
these  acts,  if  questioned  during  this  period,  were 
nevertheless  subscribed  to  and  maintained  by  him, 
and  by  every  department  of  the  government,  from  the 


116  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

said  2d  day  of  March,  1867,  to  the  said  1st  day  of 
July,  1868;  and  now  that  they  have  been  executed 
by  the  common  consent  of  the  whole  people  voting 
under  them  at  the  polls  for  members  of  a  Convention, 
for  the  new  Constitution,  and  for  members  of  Con- 
gress and  State  officers,  the  result  which  has  been 
effected  closes  the  discussion  in  relation  to  them,  and 
renders  the  present  Constitution  of  government  as 
valid  and  binding  as  were  the  Constitutions  of  1776 
and  1835. 

^'  This  government  will  be  maintained  for  the  fol- 
lowing, among  other  reasons: 

"^  1st.  It  has  been  lawfully  and  constitutionally  es- 
tablished by  the  whole  people  of  the  State.  It  is 
operating  smoothly  and  harmoniously.  Under  it  the 
people  are  quiet  and  peaceable,  and  are  just  entering 
anew  on  a  career  of  prosperity.  It  must  not  be  upset 
or  even  assailed,  because  the  colored  people  have  been 
allowed  to  vote;  or  because  they  will  vote  with  a 
certain  party;  or  because  a  few  public  men  are  out 
of  office  and  a  few  are  in. 

"  2d.  Senators  and  Representatives  have  been  ad- 
mitted by  the  Congress  to  seats  in  that  body.  The 
State  is,  therefore,  of  as  well  as  in  the  Union.  It  is 
as  much  of  the  Union  as  Xew  York  or  any  other 
a  State  out,  or  sever  its  relations  with  the  common 
government.  If  Congress  should,  therefore,  do  what 
is  exceedingly  improbable,  repeal  the  reconstruction 
acts,  such  repeal  would  have  no  more  effect  than  a 
repeal  of  the  act  admitting  Texas  or  Kansas  to 
representation.     The  reconstruction  acts  have  been 


Memoiks  of  W.  W.  Holden  117 

executed,   and   are,   therefore,  beyond  the  reach   of 
Congress. 

^'  3d.  The  Supreme  Court  has  no  jurisdiction  of  the 
subject.  Its  powers  are  expressly  defined  by  the  Con- 
stitution to  be  ''judicial/'  and  not  political.  It  has 
already  decided  that  the  question  of  admission  to  rep- 
resentation is  a  political  question,  and  that  when  de- 
termined by  Congress,  as  it  has  been  in  relation  to 
E^orth  Carolina,  the  court  will  not  interfere. 

''  4th.  The  President  would  have  no  more  power  to 
declare  the  reconstruction  acts  null  and  void,  with 
a  view  to  the  extinguishment  of  the  government  of 
this  State,  than  I  would  have  to  declare  that  a  cer- 
tain County  or  Counties  in  this  State  should  cease  to 
exist. 

''  The  government  of  ^N'orth  Carolina  is,  therefore, 
as  firmly  established  as  that  of  any  other  State.  It 
has  the  same  control  of  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  of 
its  own  internal  affairs,  as  the  other  States  have; 
and  it  possesses  equal  power  with  the  other  States  to 
protect  and  perpetuate  itself. 

''  The  right  of  the  people  to  have  arms  in  their  ^ 
houses,  and  to  ^'  bear ''  them  under  the  authority  of 
law,  is  not  questioned.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  claimed 
as  a  constitutional  right  sacred  to  freemen.  The  use 
of  arms  by  the  male  population,  for  peaceable  and 
lawful  purposes,  should  rather  be  encouraged  than 
otherwise;  but  when,  in  time  of  peace,  weapons 
of  an  extraordinary  character  are  imported  into  the  " 
State  by  political  organizations,  and  deposited  and 
distributed  in  a  secret  manner  among  persons  whose 
spokesmen  deny  the  authority  of  the  existing  gov- 


118  Memoirs  of  W.  "W.  Holdex 

ernment,  and  who  publicly  declare  that  all  govern- 
ment, to  be  authoritative  and  binding,  must  proceed 
alone  from  one  race  of  our  people,  a  state  of  affairs 
is  at  once  constituted  which  renders  it  the  duty  of 
every  officer  and  every  citizen  to  be  more  than  usually 
vigilant.  It  cannot  be  pretended  that  these  arms  are 
intended  for  hunting  or  sporting  purposes.  It  cannot 
be  justly  assumed  that  they  are  necessary  for  the  pro- 
tection of  those  who  have  them,  since  the  whole  power 
of  the  State  and  general  governments  is  pledged  to 
protect  the  peaceable  and  the  law-abiding,  whoever 
and  wherever  they  may  be. 

''  If  it  be  the  purpose  of  any  portion  of  the  people 
in  any  event  to  resist  the  laws  or  to  subvert  the  gov- 
ernment, they  should  bear  in  mind  that  treason  is 
the  highest  crime  that  can  be  committed;  that  they 
are  liable  to  arrest  and  punishment  under  the  ''Act 
to  punish  conspiracy,  sedition  and  rebellion,"  which 
will  be  enforced,  if  necessary,  with  a  firm  hand ;  and 
they  should  reflect  that  the  magnanimity  of  the  gov- 
ernment, which  spared  the  lives  and  estates  of  those 
who  engaged  in  the  late  rebellion,  may  not  be  ex- 
tended a  second  time  to  save  them  from  the  conse- 
quences of  their  crimes. 

''  If  it  be  the  purpose  of  any  portion  of  the  people, 
by  the  use  of  arms,  or  by  threats,  or  intimidation,  to 
prevent  the  people  from  going  to  the  polls  and  voting 
as  they  may  choose  to  vote  on  the  third  day  of  next 
month,  it  is  my  duty  to  inform  them  that  force  will 
be  met  with  force,  and  that  every  person  who  may 
thus  violate  the  law  will  be  punished.  Every  race  of 
men  in  this  State  is  free.     The  colored  citizen  is 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  119 

t 

equally  entitled  with  the  white  citizen  to  the  right  of 
suffrage.  The  poor  and  the  humble  must  be  pro- 
tected in  this  right  equally  with  the  affluent  and  the 
exalted.    The  election  must  be  absolutely  free. 

"  In  view,  therefore,  of  this  condition  of  affairs,  I 
have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  issue  this  Proclamation, 
admonishing  the  people  to  avoid  undue  excitement, 
to  be  peaceable  and  orderly,  and  to  exercise  the  right 
of  suffrage  firmly  and  calmly,  without  violence  or 
force  of  any  kind.  Every  good  citizen  is  gratified 
that  ^orth  Carolina  is  at  present  as  quiet  and  peace- 
able as  any  State  of  the  Union.  Let  us  maintain  this 
good  name  for  our  State.  Let  us  frown  indignantly 
on  the  use  of  brute  force,  or  bribes,  or  threats,  to 
control  the  election;  and  let  every  officer  of  the 
State,  civil  and  military,  be  prepared  to  check  in- 
stantly any  incipient  step  to  sedition,  rebellion  or 
treason. 

'^  The  flag  of  the  United  States  waves  for  the  pro- 
tection of  all.  Every  star  upon  it  shines  down  with 
vital  fire  into  every  spot,  howsoever  remote  or  sol- 
itary, to  consume  those  who  may  resist  the  authority 
of  the  government,  or  who  oppress  the  defenceless 
and  the  innocent.  The  State  government  will  be  -^ 
maintained;  the  laws  will  be  enforced;  every  cit- 
izen, whatever  his  political  sentiments,  will  be  pro- 
tected in  his  rights;  the  unlawful  use  of  arms  will 
be  prevented,  if  possible,  and  if  not  prevented,  will 
be  punished;  and  conspiracy,  sedition  and  treason 
will  raise  their  heads  only  to  be  immediately  subdued 
by  the  strong  hand  of  military  power.  The  General 
commanding  this  department  has  instructed  the  dis- 


120  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

trict  and  post  commanders  to  "act  in  aid  and 
co-operation,  and  in  subordination  to  the  civil  author- 
ities," in  maintaining  the  peace  and  in  securing  a 
free  election.  The  power  of  both  governments  is 
thus  pledged  to  peace,  order  and  tranquility. 

''  It  is  specially  enjoined  on  all  officers  of  the 
Detailed  Militia  to  observe  the  ''act  to  organize  a 
militia  of  Korth  Carolina,"  and  to  act  in  strict  sub- 
ordination to  the  civil  power.  And  all  Magistrates, 
Sheriifs  and  other  peace  officers  are  also  specially  en- 
joined to  be  vigilant,  impartial,  faithful  and  firm  in 
the  discharge  of  their  duties,  magnifying  and  enforc- 
ing the  law,  ferreting  out  offenders,  protecting  the 
weak  against  the  strong  who  may  attempt  to  deprive 
them  of  their  rights ;  to  the  end  that  the  wicked  may 
be  restrained,  the  peace  of  society  preserved,  the  goud 
name  of  the  State  maintained,  and  the  governm.ent 
perpetuated  on  the  basis  of  Freedom  and  Justice 
to  all. 

''  Done  at  our  city  of  Raleigh,  on  the  12th 
[l.  s.]   day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight,  and 
in  the  ninety-third  year  of  our  Independence. 

W.  W.  HOLDEX,  Governor, 
By  the  Governor: 

Robert  M.  Douglas^  Private  Secretary/' 

In  addition  to  this  I  issued  four  other  proclama- 
tions do^vTi  to  June  6,  1870,  urging  and  beseeching 
the  people  without  respect  to  party  or  color,  to  respect 
and  venerate  the  law,  to  protect  and  preserve  human 
life  and  to  demean  themselves  as  good  citizens. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  121 

By  the  Constitution  of  this  State  I  was  empowered 
to  be  commander-in-chief  to  call  out  the  militia,  to 
execute  the  law,  suppress  riots  and  insurrections,  and 
to  repel  invasion.  On  the  16th  day  of  December  1869 
I  sent  the  following  message  to  the  Legislature : 

'^  Executive  Department^  Raleigh, 

December  16,  1869. 

To  the  Honorable,  the  General  Assembly  of  North 
Carolina. 

"  Gentlemen : — Allow  me  respectfully  and  earnestly 
to  call  your  attention  to  the  necessity  which  exists 
for  such  amendments  to  the  militia  law  as  will  enable 
the  executive  to  suppress  violence  and  disorder  in 
certain  localities  of  this  State,  and  to  protect  the 
persons  of  citizens,  their  lives  and  their  property. 

"  Since  my  last  annual  message,  dated  N^ov.  16th, 
1869,  numerous  outrages  of  the  most  flagrant  char- 
acter have  been  committed  upon  peaceable  and  law- 
abiding  citizens,  by  persons  masked  and  armed,  who 
rode  at  night,  and  who  have  thus  far  escaped  the 
civil  law.  I  have  adopted  such  measures  as  were  in 
my  power  to  ferret  out  and  bring  to  justice  all  break- 
ers of  the  law,  without  reference  to  their  color  or  to 
the  political  party  or  parties  to  which  they  belong, 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  Judge  and  solicitors  in  the 
various  circuits  have  been  prompt,  energetic  and  im- 
partial in  the  discharge  of  their  duties.  I^otwith- 
standing  this,  Gentlemen,  the  outrages  referred  to 
seem  to  be  rather  on  the  increase  in  certain  localities 
in  so  much  that  many  good  citizens  are  in  a  constant 


122  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holder 

state  of  terror  and  society  in  said  localities  is  in  a 
deplorable  condition.  It  is  for  your  honorable  body 
to  apply  the  remedy  by  so  strengthening  the  arm  of 
the  executive  as  to  enable  him  to  repress  these  out- 
rages and  restore  peace  and  order.  I  have  confidence 
in  your  wisdom,  in  your  regard  for  law,  and  in  the 
disposition  which  I  feel  sure  exists  in  every  mem- 
ber of  your  honorable  body  to  adopt  such  measures 
as  will  speedily  put  an  end  to  the  evils  complained  of. 
^'  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Gentlemen,  with  great 
respect, 

^^  Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.  HoLDEN^  Governor/* 

-V  This   message   of   the   Governor,   of   the    16th   of 

December,  1869,  led  to  the  enactment  of  what  is 
^  called  the  Shoffner  law.  This  law  authorized  the 
Governor  to  declare  certain  counties  in  insurrection. 
That  is,  it  suspended  civil  law  and  authorized  the 
arrest  of  suspected  persons.  The  reader  will  perceive 
that  at  last  my  duty  required  me  to  do  this,  as  this 
message  states.  The  violation  of  law  and  the  out- 
rages referred  to,  seemed  to  be  rather  on  the  increase 
in  certain  localities,  and  left  me  therefore  no  alter- 
native, but  to  proclaim  Alamance  and  .Caswell  in  a 
state  of  insurrection.  The  gist  or  substance  of  the 
Shoffner  act  was  to  authorize  me  to  suspend  the  civil 
law  when  in  my  judgment  it  was  necessary  to  do  so. 
I  was  fully  aware  of  the  great  responsibility,  but 
human  life  was  above  all  price.  As  I  said  to  Mr. 
Albright  of  Alamance,  I  did  not  care  how  the  elec- 
tions of  1870  went  if  by  what  I  did  I  saved  one 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  123 


human  life.  The  civil  and  military  are  alike  consti- 
tutional powers ;  the  civil  to  protect  life  and  property 
when  it  can,  and  the  military  only  when  the  former 
has  failed. 

Dr.  Pride  Jones  had  said,  ^'Mj  candid  opinion  is 
that  the  Ku  Klux  cannot  be  put  down  by  force,  with- 
out a  dreadful  amount  of  blood-shed  and  crime." 

I  authorized  the  formation  of  two  regiments  of 
militia,  or  troops,  one  to  be  commanded  by  Col.  Wm. 
J.  Clarke,  and  the  other  by  Col.  George  W.  Kirk. 
Both  of  these  officers  were  men  of  large  experience. 
Col.  Clarke  was  an  old  and  well-tried  veteran  of  two 
wars.  He  had  fought  and  won  distinction  in  the 
War  with  Mexico,  and  in  the  war  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Confederate  Government.  Col.  Clarke 
was  ridiculed  a  good  deal  by  the  '^penny  a  liners''  but 
his  character  could  not  be  impaired  by  any  of  the 
fault-finders.  Col.  Kirk  was  fiercely,  and  roundly, 
and  unjustly  assailed  by  his  enemies,  mainly  because 
he  was  a  native,  loyal  man.  He  had  raised  three 
regiments  of  J^orth  Carolineans  and  Tennesseans 
for  the  federal  government  and  had  been  a  faithful 
soldier  of  the  Union.  He  was  employed  by  me  in 
good  faith  in  accordance  with  law,  and  E'orth  Caro- 
lina still  owes  him  a  part  of  his  salary.  His  com- 
mand consisted  mainly  of  loyal  men  who  fought  un- 
der him  for  the  Union.  After  the  War,  when  peace 
was  made,  all  but  those  who  were  especially  malig- 
nant, regarded  with  equal  respect  all  brave  men 
whether  they  had  fought  for  the  South  or  for  the 
Union,  no  matter  where  they  came  from.  One  strong 
evidence  of  his  fitness  and  worthiness  to  command 


124  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

is,  when  he  came  into  Asheville  with  his  regiment 
he  was  stationed  in  that  town  by  the  General,  and  the 
people  of  that  to^vn  were  well  pleased  with  him.  It 
was  stated  in  some  of  the  evidence  (sic)  (in  the  im- 
peachment proceedings)  that  he  had  said  that  if  he 
were  attacked  at  his  place  in  the  Court  House 
at  Yanceyville,  that  he  would  resist  and  burn  the 
town  and  murder  the  women  and  children.  There 
is  no  foundation  whatever  for  this  story,  and  there 
is  less  foundation  if  possible  for  the  further  state- 
ment that  the  Governor  had  so  told  him  to  do.  As 
to  the  men  who  composed  his  command,  they  were 
nearly  all  ^N^orth  Carolinians.  What  odds  did  it 
make  that  some  of  them  were  Tennesseans  ?  Col. 
Kirk  knew  them  all  well  and  they  were  sworn  sol- 
diers, as  he  was,  of  North  Carolina.  And  then 
the  counsel  for  the  State  (sic)  (in  the  impeach- 
ment proceedings)  made  a  great  ado  over  Col. 
Kirk's  address  issued  to  his  old  soldiers  to  induce 
them  to  join  his  regiment.  Mr.  Cornelius  B.  Ed- 
wards and  his  brother  were  in  danger  of  being  ar- 
rested for  contempt,  for  a  very  little  thing,  which  I 
myself  could  have  settled  at  once,  if  I  had  been  called 
upon.  I  did  not  write,  but  simply  copied  what  Col. 
Kirk  had  written.  I  simply  saw  the  paper  lying  on 
my  desk.  I  thought  Col.  Kirk  ought  to  be  allowed  to 
make  his  own  speech  or  to  frame  his  own  address, 
but  it  was  ungrammatical.  I  simply  copied  it  and 
put  it  in  good  shape,  and  added  nothing  to  it  as  a 
printer.  That  was  all,  and  yet  these  young  men  were 
in  danger  of  being  arrested  because  they  did  not  take 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  125 

from  the  office  and  bring  to  the  Senate  as  they  had 

no  right  to  do,  the  copy  of  the  address  referred  to. 

Xor   is   it   true   that   any  persons   arrested   were 

/  cruelly  treated  by  my  orders,  and  with  my  knowl- 

Vedge.     I  gave  the  strictest  orders  to  the  officers  both 

verbally  and  in  writing  to  treat  all  persons  humanely, 

and  to  be  very  careful  of  human  life,     ^or  is  it  true 

that  I  sent  Col.  Kirk  to  Alamance  and  Caswell  as  a 

scourge  to  the  people  of  those  counties. 

I  spared  no  means  and  no  labor  for  the  space  of 
two  years. 

In  the  year  1869  there  were  disturbances  and  vio- 
lations of  the  law  in  the  Counties  of  Jones,  Craven 
and  Lenoir.  In  accordance  with  law,  at  the  call  of 
the  judges  of  the  judicial  circuits,  I  sent  a  company 
of  white  men  consisting  of  twenty-five  (25),  as  De- 
tailed Militia,  to  the  County  of  Lenoir,  and  arrested 
eighteen  men,  and  held  them  under  orders  in  jail  in 
Xewbern  until  the  judge  of  the  circuit  could  return 
from  ^ew  York,  whither  he  had  gone  on  a  visit,  and 
to  give  them  a  hearing.  They  were  bailed  in  large 
amounts,  but  inasmuch  as  the  disorders  ceased,  and 
the  people  generally  were  active  in  supporting  what 
I  had  done,  I  ordered  the  release  of  all  under  arrest 
without  trial.  This  action  on  my  part  was  not  dis- 
approved by  the  community,  but  was,  on  the  contrary, 
approved.  I  wrote  to  the  honorable  M.  E.  Manley 
of  ]^ew  Bern,  offering  him  $500.00  as  a  fee  to  ap- 
pear for  the  State  in  these  cases,  but  he  declined  the 
fee,  giving  as  his  reason  that  he  had  ceased  to  appear 
in  criminal  cases. 

In  the  early  part  of  1870  I  employed  in  Chatham 


126  Memoiks  of  W.  W.  Holden 

County  Capt.  'N.  A.  Ramsey,  and  in  Orange,  Capt. 
Pride  Jones,  both  belonging  to  the  political  party 
opposed  to  my  administration,  to  aid  in  suppressing 
the  Ku  Klux,  and  in  composing  the  trouble  in  those 
counties.  They  performed  this  duty  in  a  manner 
which  entitled  them  to  the  thanks  of  every  friend  of 
law  and  order.  Dr.  Jones  was  appointed  at  the  re- 
quest of  John  W.  Xorwood,  George  Laws,  James 
Webb,  Henry  K.  Nash,  Henry  IST.  Brown,  and  O. 
Hooker.  I  give  below  the  following  correspondence 
between  myself  and  Dr.  Pride  Jones. 

"  Hillsborough,  :N'.  C,  March  1st,  1870. 

"  Sir:  On  the  3d  inst.,  I  had  a  long  conversation 
with  Mr.  John  W.  jSTorwood  in  reference  to  an  inter- 
view that  he  has  recently  had  with  your  Excellency. 
He  urged  me  to  accept  of  a  commission  from  you,  for 
the  purpose  of  attempting  to  disband  the  secret  organ- 
ization in  this  County,  kno^\m  as  ^'  Ku  Klux,"  and 
restoring  the  laws  to  their  supremacy. 

"  This  is  a  consummation  heartily  to  be  desired  by 
all  good  citizens ;  and  though  more  averse  than  ever 
to  any  position  in  the  service  of  the  public,  I  feel  con- 
strained, by  a  sense  of  duty,  to  give  my  best  exer- 
tions, however  feeble  they  may  be,  in  aiding  the 
restoration  of  peace  and  order,  and,  should  you  deem 
me  qualified  for  the  position,  I  will  accept  of  it. 

^'  I  feel  certain  that  in  this  County  I  can  further 
your  views,  and  I  believe  that  if  my  commission  is 
extended  to  Alamance,  I  can  exercise  considerable 
influence  there  also. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  127 

'^  But  if,  as  is  rumored  here  today,  your  Excellency 
has,  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  your  duty,  ordered  > 
troops  to  that  County,  you  must  pardon  me  for  say- 
ing that  I  look  with  apprehension  to  the  result ;  and 
my  candid  opinion  is  that  the  '^Ku  Klux"  cannot 
be  put  down  by  force  without  a  dreadful  amount  of 
bloodshed  and  crime,  and  that  the  wise  course 
adopted  by  you  in  Chatham  would  be  much  more 
effective  here  also.  If  troops  have  gone  there,  of 
course  they  cannot  be  recalled  at  once ;  but  I  consider 
it  of  vital  importance,  should  you  consider  it  expedi- 
ent to  extend  my  commission  to  that  County,  for  you 
to  give  me  some  authority  in  the  premises,  and  enable 
me  to  say  that  upon  such  and  such  things  being  done, 
that  you  will  recall  the  troops. 

"  I  would  further  suggest  that  your  instructions 
upon  the  subject  of  oblivion  and  pardon  of  the  past 
be  explicit  and  clear,  or  my  labors  may  be  unavailing. 

"  It  may  be  proper  to  add  that  I  am  not  a  member 
of  the  "Ku  Klux"  or  any  other  secret  political  organ- 
ization whatever. 

"  Very  respectfully, 

^'  Your  obedient  servant. 

Pride  Jones. 

"His  Excellency,  W.  W.  Holden,  Raleigh. 

"  Hillsborough^  March  5,  1870. 

To  His  Excellency  J  W.  W,  Holden,  Governor  of  N.C, 

"  Sir :  The  undersigned,  citizens  of  Orange  County, 

respectfully  recommend  Dr.  Pride  Jones,  of  Hills- 

boro,   as   a  suitable  person  to   receive   a   Captain's 


128  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

^^  Commission  for  Orange  County.  We  believe  his 
appointment  would  give  entire  satisfaction  to  our 
citizens,  and  would  go  far  towards  establishing,  on  a 
firm  basis,  good  order  throughout  the  County. 

^'  Very  respectfully, 

(Signed)  J.  W.  Xorwood^ 

Geo.  Laws^ 
James  Webb^ 
Henry  K.  Xask, 
Henry  X.  Brown, 
O.  Hooker. 

''  STATE  OF  XOETH  CAROLINA, 
Executive  Department, 
Raleigh,  March  7th,  1870. 

^'  To  Capt.  Pride  Jones  : 

^'  Sir :  Please  find  enclosed  a  Captain's  Commission 
in  the  45th  Regiment  Orange  Militia.  You  will  ob- 
serve by  the  papers  that  I  have  been  constrained  to 
declare  the  County  of  Alamance  in  a  state  of  insur- 
rection. I  have  done  this  with  reluctance  and  re- 
gret. The  civil  law  is  silent  and  powerless  in  that 
County.  Many  of  the  people  of  that  County  feel  that 
they  are  entirely  insecure  in  their  persons  and  prop- 
erty, and  their  only  hope  is  in  such  protection  as  the 
military  can  afford  them.  Federal  troops,  com- 
manded by  States  officers,  will  be  employed.  The 
innocent  and  the  law-abiding  will  be  in  no  danger; 
but  it  is  indispensable  to  bring  the  guilty  to  punish- 
ment. I  agree  with  you  that  the  Klan  of  Ku  Klux  is 
very  formidable  and  warlike,  but  I  fear  it  will  grow 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  129 


with  indulgence,  and  that  if  vigorous  measures  he 
postponed  it  will  ultimately  occasion  much  civil 
strife  and  bloodshed.  I  am  most  anxious  to  preserve 
Orange,  Chatham  and  other  Counties  surrounding 
Alamance  from  the  infection  of  insurrection  in  the 
latter  County.  Capt.  Ramsey  is  doing  good  work  in 
Chatham.  The  civil  officers  of  the  County  of  Orange 
are  the  friends  of  law  and  order,  and  are  performing 
their  duties  like  patriots.  I  wish  you,  sir,  to  take 
command  in  Orange.  I  believe  you  can  thus  perform 
efficient  and  valuable  service  for  your  State. 

If  you  should  accept  this  position,  I  should  rely  in 
a  great  degree  upon  your  firmness,  moderation  and 
discretion,  and  therefore,  at  present,  give  no  special 
instructions  as  to  the  manner  in  which  you  will  dis- 
charge your  duty.  Your  pay,  while  on  duty,  will  be 
that  of  a  Captain  in  the  Eegular  army  of  the  United 
States.  I  would  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  at  an  early 
date. 

Very  respectfully, 

W.  W.  HoLDEN^  Governor/' 

"  Hillsborough,  K  C,  March  9,  1870. 

His  Excellency,  W.  W.  Holden  : 

"  Sir :  Your  favor  of  the  7th  instant  reached  me 
this  morning  with  accompanying  documents. 

^^  I  accept  the  commission  and  have  already  com- 
menced the  discharge  of  its  duties.  On  yesterday  I 
went  eight  miles  in  the  country,  believing  that  there 
was  no  time  to  be  lost  if  my  commission  was  to  result 
beneficially,  and  was  much  gratified  to  find  the  par- 


130  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

ties     appealed    (to)    earnestly    responding     to    my 
wishes. 

^'  From  the  facts  stated  to  me  by  Mr.  Norwood,  I 
represented  that  the  past  would  be  overlooked,  pro- 
vided there  was  a  disbanding  of  the  klans,  and  no 
further  infraction  of  the  law;  and  I  sincerely  hope 
that  your  Excellency  in  your  special  instructions,  for 
which  I  respectfully  ask  at  your  earliest  convenience, 
will  sustain  me  in  the. position  assumed;  for  with 
such  instructions  I  feel  perfectly  assured  that  I  can 
restore  the  laws  to  their  just  supremacy,  and  this  I 
take  to  be  at  this  time  the  main  object  of  my  commis- 
sion. 

"  I  am,  sir, 

"  Very  respectfully, 

^'  Your  ob't  servant. 

Pride  Jones.^^ 

^'  X.  B.  I  omitted  to  suggest  that  if  the  ''Leaguers" 
Avere  embraced  in  my  instructions  it  would  facilitate 
matters  very  materially.  P.  J." 

"  Ealeigh,  March  17,  1870. 

"  To  Captaix  Pride  Jones  : 

"  Sir:  Yours  of  the  9th  was  duly  received,  and 
would  have  been  answered  sooner  but  for  the  pressure 
of  other  business. 

''  I  am  gratified  at  your  acceptance  of  the  commis- 
sion, and  trust  that  your  efforts  will  result  benefi- 
cially to  society. 

''  It  will  readily  occur  to  you  that  as  the  Executive 
I  have  no  power  to  proclaim  amnesty.    The  Solicitor 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  131 

may  enter  a  nol.  pros.,  or  he  may  not,  and  the  Judge 
may  then  sentence,  and  then  the  power  of  commuta- 
tion, or  pardon,  is  with  the  executive.  I  am  ready  to 
do  all  that  I  can  under  the  Constitution  and  laws 
to  compose  troubles.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  pros- 
ecute or  to  take  vengeance  on  any.  What  we  want  is 
submission  to  the  laws,  and  peace  in  all  the  neighbor- 
hoods in  the  County.  Public  opinion  can  effect  this 
more  certainly  and  on  a  more  permanent  basis  than 
the  ministers  of  the  law  can,  under  present  circum- 
stances. It  is  an  important  part  of  the  duty  assigned 
you  to  embody  and  direct  this  public  opinion.  In 
doing  this,  much  must  be  necessarily  left  to  your  own 
discretion.  You  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
people  of  the  County.  You  know  their  peculiar  tem- 
peraments, their  habits  and  their  modes  of  thought. 
Their  prejudices,  even,  should  be  respected. 

^'  But  the  object  of  all  this  is  to  restore  peace  and 
good  order. 

'^  Every  citizen,  no  matter  of  what  color,  or  how 
poor  or  humble,  has  a  right  to  labor  for  a  living  with- 
out being  molested ;  to  express  his  political  opinions 
without  let  or  hindrance;  and  to  be  absolutely  at 
peace  in  his  own  house.  Every  citizen  has  a  right  to 
attach  himself  to  a  secret  political  organization ;  and 
these  organizations  are  harmless,  so  long  as  they  re- 
spect the  rights  of  persons  and  property.  But,  though 
lawful,  they  are  not  expedient.  The  time  has  passed 
when  they  were  even  expedient.  They  can  effect 
no  special  good  at  present,  but  they  may  be  the  cloak 
or  the  occasion  for  mischief.  Especially  are  they 
so  w^hen  the  members  disguise  themselves,  and  take 


132  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

arms  and  ride  through  neighborhoods  breaking  the 
peace  and  terrifying  the  inhabitants.  You  will,  there- 
fore, mildly  but  firmly  discountenance  and  discourage 
all  secret  j^olitical  organizations,  and  especially  those 
that  put  on  disguises  and  carry  arms.  It  is  a  mis- 
demeanor to  go  thus  disguised  with  intent  to  terrify, 
and  it  is  felony  thus  to  commit  any  act  of  violence. 

"  The  authority  with  which  you  are  Invested  is  to 
exercise  a  strict  subordination  to  the  civil  power. 

*'  I  take  it  for  granted  the  sheriff  of  Orange  can  ex- 
ecute any  process  that  may  be  placed  in  his  hands. 
But,  if  resisted,  you  are  authorized  to  take  men  to 
his  aid  as  posse  comitatus,  to  insure  the  arrest  of 
criminals.  And  if  criminals  enter  Orange  from  Ala- 
mance they  should  be  arrested  and  held  for  trial. 

"  Your  attention  is  directed  to  the  Acts  published  in 
the  Standard,  Sentinel,  and  Eecorder  immediately 
after  my  proclamation  of  the  7th  of  March.  Also 
to  the  ''act  making  the  act  of  going  masked,  disguised 
or  painted  a  felony,"  laws  of  1868-69,  chapter  267, 
page  613. 

''  I  Avould  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  frequently  as  to 
the  progress  you  are  making  in  maintaining  law  and 
order  in  Orange. 

Very  respectfully, 

"  W.  W.  HoLDEN^  Governor, 

I^or  was  I  wanting  at  any  time  or  any  way  in  gen- 
erosity or  kindness  to  the  people,  or  to  my  opponents. 
I  was  careful  never  to  intrude  myself  on  conven- 
tions or  Legislatures  called  or  chosen  by  myself.  I 
had  too  much  respect  for  such  bodies  to  present  even 


Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden  133 


an  appearance  of  arbitrary  power.  I  never  attended 
even  the  convention  called  in  1865,  or  either  House 
of  the  Legislature  of  the  same  year.  But  in  1868 
while  the  Legislature  was  in  session,  walking  in  the 
rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  I  heard  someone  say,  "  They 
are  having  high  times  upstairs."  I  replied,  ^What's 
the  matter  ?"  I  was  told  that  they  were  about  to  expel 
Kobbins.  I  then  went  upstairs  for  the  first  time  into 
the  Senate  chamber.  Mr.  Senator  Eobbins,  of  David- 
son County,  was  defending  himself  against  a  charge 
of  bribery.  The  house  was  Kepublican  by  two-thirds 
vote.  I  asked  what  the  charge  was.  I  was  told  it  was 
for  receiving  $20  for  making  a  speech  in  the  Senate 
for  paying  Mr.  John  W.  Stephens  mileage.  I  said, 
''That  is  not  so,  it  cannot  be  true."  I  then  saw  Mr. 
Senator  Lassiter  and  other  Senators,  and  Mr.  Steph- 
ens himself,  and  asked  them  to  work  with  me  and  dis- 
suade them  from  passing  the  resolution  of  expulsion. 
The  result  was,  we  saved  him  by  three  majority  in 
a  body  two-thirds  Eepublican.  I  refused  to  join  my 
party  friends  in  their  persecution  of  a  worthy  man 
because  he  was  a  Democrat.  I  afterwards  forbade 
the  use  in  the  Standard  of  ''twenty-dollar  Eobbins." 

On  another  occasion  in  Ealeigh,  between  the  times 
when  I  was  Provisional  Governor  and  when  I  was 
regular  civil  Governor,  I  interposed  to  save  a  friend, 
a  Democrat,  who  was  in  trouble.  It  was  Major  D.  G. 
McEae,  of  Fayetteville.  He  was  in  military  prison 
on  the  site  of  the  old  fair  grounds  in  East  Ealeigh. 
I  called  on  the  officer  in  command  and  asked  to  see 
D.  G.  McEae,  and  to  know  the  charge  on  which  he 
was  held.     He  sent  for  him,  and  he  was  brought  in. 


134  Me^ioirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

The  officer  said :  ''  Mr.  McRae  is  held  to  be  tried  be- 
cause he  said  after  he  had  tried  a  negro  man  for  rape, 
'Damn  him,  kill  him.'  "  I  said  to  the  officer,  ''I  hope 
you  will  release  Maj.  McRae  at  once,  he  is  very  far 
from  being  such  a  man  as  that,  it  is  simply  impossi- 
ble that  he  should  have  said  that;  I  beg  you,  Sir,  to 
release  him  and  let  him  go  home,"  Avhich  he  did  at 
once.  Col.  James  F.  Taylor  had  gone  with  me  to  the 
prison  to  see  Maj.  McRae.  I  had  myself  appointed 
Maj.  McRae  magistrate,  and  knew  him  well. 

And  there  was  Captain  Tolar,  of  Fayetteville,  who 
was  tried  for  the  murder  of  this  same  negro,  and 
convicted  by  a  court  martial  and  sentenced  to  hard 
labor  on  the  fort  at  Beaufort,  X.  C.  That  was  in 
1867.  I  wrote  to  President  Johnson  stating  the 
facts,  and  asked  for  his  pardon.  He  was  pardoned. 
Another  case  was  that  of  a  young  man,  the  eldest 
son  of  Governor  Bragg,  who  was  engaged  in  a  diffi- 
culty with  another  young  man,  and  shot  him  in  the 
groin.  Young  Bragg  was  in  serious  peril.  Mr. 
Fowle  (now  Gov.  Fowle)  appeared  for  him.  Young 
Bragg,  knowing  my  friendship  for,  and  influence 
with  the  young  man  whom  he  had  shot,  and  with  his 
father  and  mother,  called  to  see  me,  and  asked  me  if 
possible  to  settle  the  matter  and  relieve  him  from  the 
indictment  then  pending  in  the  court.  I  went  at 
once  to  see  the  young  man  who  had  been  shot,  and  his 
mother.  The  matter  was  promptly  arranged  and  set- 
tled on  young  Bragg  paying  certain  expenses.  It  is 
more  than  probable  that  no  one  else  than  myself  could 
have  settled  it.  Young  Bragg  was  the  oldest  son  of 
my  prosecutor,  Ex-Gov.  Bragg,  who  was  then  dead. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holder  135 


Gov.  Fowle  and  Pulaski  Cowper,  Esq.,  will  bear  tes- 
timony that  these  things  are  so. 

On  the  22nd  of  :N'ovember,  1870,  I  sent  my  third 
and  last  message  to  the  General  Assembly.  In  this 
message  I  used  the  following  language : 

''  The  present  government  of  North-Carolina  com- 
menced its  operations  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1868. 
This  government  is  based  on  the  political  and  civil 
equality  of  all  men,  and  it  was  lawfully  and  constitu- 
tionally established  by  the  whole  people  of  the  State. 
The  State  had  just  emerged  from  a  protracted  and 
desperate  conflict  with  the  government  of  our  common 
country,  in  which  many  valuable  lives  and  a  vast 
amount  of  property  had  been  sacrificed.  It  was  hoped 
and  expected  that  the  government  thus  established, 
after  so  much  suffering  and  so  many  calamities,  would 
be  allowed  to  move  quietly  forward,  protecting  all 
alike,  dispensing  its  equal  benefits  with  an  equal  hand, 
and  preparing  the  way  for  a  realization  of  that  pros- 
perity which  the  State  had  formery  enjoyed.  But  the 
validity  of  the  Eeconstruction  Acts  was  questioned, 
and  the  authority  of  the  State  was  represented  as  hav- 
ing been  derived  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  it 
binding  on  the  people  onlyi^^ST  an  opportunity 
should  be  offered  to  throw  it  off.  Combinations  were 
formed  in  various  parts  of  the  State,  of  a  secret  char- 
acter, the  object  of  which  was  to  render  practically 
null  and  void  the  Reconstruction  Acts,  and  to  set  at 
naught  those  provisions  of  the  Federal  and  State  Con- 
stitutions which  secure  political  and  civil  equality  to 
the  whole  body  of  our  people.  My  attention  was  first 
called  to  these  combinations  in  October,  1868,  and  I 


136  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

then  deemed  it  my  duty  to  issue  a  proclamation,  set- 
ting forth  the  nature  of  our  government,  the  manner 
in  which  it  had  been  established,  vindicating  its  au- 
thority as  a  government,  not  merely  de  facto,  but  de 
jure,  and  giving  warning  of  the  consequences  that 
must  follow,  if  any  attempt  should  be  made  to  sul> 
vert  the  government,  or  to  assail  by  force  the  right  of 
suffrage  as  guaranteed  to  any  portion  of  our  citizens. 
In  that  proclamation  I  said :  '  Every  race  of  men  in 
this  State  is  free.  The  colored  citizen  is  equally  en- 
titled with  the  white  citizen  to  the  right  of  suffrage. 
The  poor  and  the  humble  must  be  protected  in  this 
right  equally  w4th  the  affluent  and  the  exalted."  It  was 
also  enjoined  upon  ''all  magistrates.  Sheriffs  and 
other  peace  officers  to  be  vigilant,  impartial,  faithful 
and  firm  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  magnifying 
and  enforcing  the  law,  ferreting  out  offenders,  pro- 
tecting the  weak  against  the  strong  who  may  attempt 
to  deprive  them  of  their  rights ;  to  the  end  that  the 
wicked  may  he  restrained,  the  peace  of  society  pre- 
served, the  good  name  of  the  State  maintained,  and 
the  government  perpetuated  on  the  basis  of  Freedom 
and  Justice  to  all.'     ^ 

"And  in  April,  (18/9,  after  the  General  Assembly, 
had  passed  ''An  Act  making  the  act  of  going  masked, 
disguised  or  painted,  a  felony,"  I  issued  another  proc- 
lamation setting  forth  this  Act,  and  giving  notice  that 
'  bands  of  men  who  go  masked  and  armed  at  night, 
causing  alarm  and  terror  in  neighborhoods,  and  com- 
mitting acts  of  violence  on  the  inoffensive  and  de- 
fenceless,' and  '  depredators  and  robbers,  who  lived 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  137 

on  the  honest  earnings  of  others,'  would  be  followed 
and  made  to  feel  the  penalty  due  to  their  crimes. 

^^And  in  October,  1869, 1  deemed  it  my  duty  to  issue 
another  proclamation,  setting  forth  the  fact  that  in 
the  Counties  of  Lenoir,  Jones,  Orange  and  .Chatham, 
^'there  is,  and  has  been  for  some  months  past,  a  feel- 
ing of  insubordination  and  insurrection,  insomuch 
that  many  good  citizens  are  put  in  terror  for  their 
lives  and  property,  and  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossi- 
ble, to  secure  a  full  and  fair  enforcement  of  the  law.'' 
I  gave  notice  in  this  proclamation  that  violations  of 
law  and  outrages  in  the  aforesaid  Counties  must 
cease;  otherwise  I  would  ^proclaim  those  Counties 
in  a  state  of  insurrection,'  and  would  ^exert  the 
whole  power  of  the  State  to  enforce  the  law,  to  pro- 
tect those  who  are  assailed  or  injured,  and  to  bring 
criminals  to  justice.' 

''And  in  March,  1870,  I  was  forced  by  a  sense  of 
duty  to  'proclaim  and  declare  that  the  County  of 
Alamance  is  in  a  state  of  insurrection.' 

"And  in  June,  1870, 1  issued  another  proclamation, 
in  which,  on  account  of  ten  murders  mentioned,  com- 
mitted in  four  Counties,  and  other  acts  of  violence, 
such  as  whipping,  and  the  driving  a  State  Senator 
from  the  State,  I  offered  rewards  for  the  arrest  and 
conviction  of  murderers,  amounting  in  the  aggregate 
to  a  large  sum.  In  this  proclamation  I  denounced  the 
outrages,  such  as  murders  and  scourgings,  by  the 
Kuklux  Klan,  and  also  retaliation  by  others,  such  as 
the  burning  of  stables,  mills  and  dwelling  houses ; 
and  I  urged  all  officers,  both  civil  and  military,  to 


138  Memoirs  of  "W.  W.  Holdex 

aid  in  bringing  offenders  to  justice  and  restoring 
peace  and  good  order  to  those  portions  of  the  State. 

^'And  in  July,  1870, 1  was  forced  by  a  sense  of  duty 
to  declare  the  County  of  .Caswell  in  a  state  of  insur- 
rection.' 

"  These  proclamations  are  printed  in  the  ^Appen- 
dix' to  this  document,  and  I  trust  every  member  of 
your  honorable  body  will  give  them  a  careful  perusal. 

'^  In  addition  to  these  proclamations  I  addressed 
letters  to  various  civil  and  military  officers,  and  to 
citizens,  urging  the  necessity  of  repressing  these  out- 
rages and  of  enforcing  the  law.  For  the  space  of 
twelve  months,  while  the  laws  were  thus  being  set  at 
naught,  and  while  grand  juries  were  failing  to  find 
bills,  or,  if  they  were  found,  petit  juries  refused  to 
convict,  I  was  almost  constantly  importuned  by  let- 
ters, and  in  person,  by  many  of  the  victims  of  these 
outrages,  and  was  urged  to  adopt  some  means  of  pro- 
tection to  society,  and  especially  to  the  victims  of  the 
secret  combinations  referred  to. 

''  These  combinations  were  at  first  purely  political 
in  their  character,  and  many  good  citizens  were  in- 
duced to  join  them.  But  gradually,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  ambitious  and  discontented  politicians,  and 
under  the  pretext  that  society  needed  to  be  regulated 
by  some  authority  outside  or  above  the  law,  their 
character  was  changed,  and  these  secret  Klans  began 
to  commit  murder,  to  rob,  whip,  scourge  and  mutilate 
unoffending  citizens.  These  organizations  or  these 
combinations  Avere  called  the  Ku  Klux  Klan,  and 
were  revealed  to  the  public,  as  the  result  of  the  meas- 
ures which  I  adopted,  as  '^The  Constiiutional  Union 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  139 

Guards,"  ''The  White  Brotherhood,"  and  ''The  Invis- 
ible Empire."  Unlike  other  secret  political  associa- 
tions, they  authorized  the  use  of  force,  with  deadly 
weapons,  to  influence  the  elections.  The  members 
were  united  by  oaths  which  ignored  or  repudiated  the 
ordinary  oaths  or  obligations  resting  upon  all  other 
citizens  to  respect  the  laws  and  to  uphold  the 
government;  these  oaths  inculcated  hatred  by  the 
white  race  against  the  colored  race;  the  members  of 
the  Klan,  as  above  stated,  were  hostile  to  the  princi- 
ples on  which  the  government  of  the  State  had  been 
reconstructed,  and,  in  many  respects,  hostile  to  the 
government  of  the  United  States.  They  met  in  se* 
cret,  in  disguise,  with  arms,  in  a  dress  of  a  certain 
kind  intended  to  conceal  their  persons  and  their 
horses,  and  to  terrify  those  whom  they  menaced  or 
assaulted.  They  held  their  camps,  and  under  their 
leaders  they  decreed  judgment  against  their  peace^ 
able  fellow-citizens,  from  mere  intimidation  to 
scourgings,  mutilations,  the  burning  of  churches, 
school-houses,  mills,  and  in  many  cases  to  murder. 
This  organization,  under  different  names,  but 
cemented  by  a  common  purpose,  is  believed  to  have 
embraced  not  less  than  forty  thousand  voters  in 
IN^orth  Carolina.  It  was  governed  by  rules  more  or 
less  military  in  their  character,  and  it  struck  its  vic- 
tims with  such  secrecy,  swiftness  and  certainty  as  to 
leave  them  little  hope  either  for  escape  or  mercy. 
The  members  were  sworn  to  obey  the  orders  of  their 
camps  even  to  assassination  and  murder.  They  were 
taught  to  regard  oaths  administered  before  magis- 
trates and  in  Courts  of  Justice,  as  in  no  degree  bind- 


140  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

ing  when  they  were  called  upon  to  give  testimony 
against  their  confederates.  They  were  sworn  to  keep 
the  secrets  of  the  order — to  obey  the  commands  of  the 
Chief — to  go  to  the  rescue  of  a  member  at  all  haz- 
ards, and  to  swear  for  him  as  a  witness  and  acquit 
him  as  a  juror.  Consequently,  Grand  Juries  in  many 
Counties  frequently  refused  to  find  bills  against  the 
members  of  this  Klan  for  the  gravest  and  most  fla- 
grant violations  of  law;  and  w^hen  bills  were  found, 
and  the  parties  were  arraigned  for  trial,  witnesses, 
members  of  the  order,  would  in  nearly  every  case 
come  forward,  and,  taking  an  oath  before  the  Court 
on  the  Holy  Evangelists  to  tell  the  truth,  the  whole 
truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  would  swear  falsely, 
and  would  thus  defeat  the  ends  of  justice.  There  are, 
at  least,  four  Judges  and  four  Solicitors  in  the  State 
who  will  bear  witness  to  the  fact,  from  their  own  ex- 
perience, that  it  was  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  convice  members  of  this  Klan  of  crimes  and  mis* 
demeanors.  I  have  information  of  not  less  than 
twenty-five  murders  committed  by  members  of  this 
Klan,  in  various  Counties  of  the  State,  and  of  hun- 
dreds of  cases  of  scourging  and  whipping.  Very  few, 
if  any,  convictions  have  followed  in  these  cases.  The 
civil  law  was  powerless.  One  State  Senator  was 
murdered  in  the  open  day  in  a  County  Court-house, 
and  another  State  Senator  was  driven  from  the  State, 
solely  on  account  of  their  political  opinions.  In 
neither  case  was  a  bill  found  by  a  Grand  Jury.  A 
respectable  and  unoffending  colored  man  was  taken 
from  his  bed  at  night,  and  hanged  by  the  neck  until 
he  was  dead,  within  a  short  distance  of  a  County 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  141 

Court-house.  Another  colored  man  was  drowned, 
because  he  spoke  publicly  of  persons  who  aided  in 
the  commission  of  this  crime,  ^o  bills  were  found  in 
these  cases.  A  crippled  white  man,  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, was  cruelly  whipped  because  he  was  teaching  a 
colored  school.  'No  bill  was  found  in  this  case.  The 
Sheriff  of  a  County  was  waylaid,  shot  and  killed  on 
a  public  highway,  and  the  Colonel  of  a  County  was 
shot  and  killed  in  the  open  day,  while  engaged  in  his 
usual  business.  A  County  jail  was  broken  open,  and 
five  men  taken  out  and  their  throats  cut.  Another 
jail  was  broken  open,  and  men  taken  out  and  shot, 
one  of  whom  died  of  his  wound.  Another  jail  was 
broken  open  and  a  United  States  prisoner  released. 
!N'o  punishments  followed  in  these  cases.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  Klan,  under  the  orders  of  their  Chiefs, 
had  ridden  through  many  neighborhoods  at  night, 
and  had  punished  free  citizens  on  account  of  their 
political  opinions,  and  had  so  terrified  many  of  them 
by  threats  of  future  visitations  of  vengeance  that  they 
fled  from  their  houses,  took  refuge  in  the  woods,  and 
did  not  dare  to  appear  in  public  to  exercise  their  right 
of  suffrage.  Some  of  these  victims  were  shot,  some 
of  them  were  whipped,  some  of  them  were  hanged, 
some  of  them  were  dro^vned,  some  of  them  were  tor- 
tured, some  had  their  mouths  lacerated  with  gags, 
one  of  them  had  his  ear  cropped,  and  others,  of  both 
sexes,  were  subjected  to  indignities  which  were  dis- 
graceful not  merely  to  civilization  but  to  humanity 
itself.  The  members  of  this  Klan,  under  orders  of 
their  Chiefs,  had  ridden,  defiantly  and  unmolested 
through   the   towns   of   Hillsborough,    Chapel   Hill, 


142  Me^ioies  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

Pittsborougli  and  Graham,  committing  crimes,  defy- 
ing the  lawful  authorities,  and  causing  real 
alarm  to  all  really  good  people.  In  fine,  gen- 
tlemen, there  was  no  remedy  for  these  evils 
through  the  civil  law^,  and  but  for  the  use 
of  the  military  arm,  to  which  I  was  compelled  to 
resort,  the  whole  fabric  of  society  in  the  State  would 
have  been  undermined  and  destroyed,  and  a  reign  of 
lawlessness  and  anarchy  w^ould  have  been  established. 
The  present  State  government  would  thus  have  failed 
in  the  great  purpose  for  which  it  was  created,  to-wit : 
the  protection  of  life  and  property  under  equal  laws ; 
and,  necessarily,  the  national  government  would  have 
interfered,  and,  in  all  probability  would  have  placed 
us  again  and  for  an  indefinite  period  under  military 
rule. 

^'  In  June,  1869,  about  twelve  months  before  I  de- 
clared the  Counties  of  Alamance  and  CasAvell  in  a 
state  of  insurrection,  I  caused  eighteen  men,  murder- 
ers and  robbers,  to  be  arrested  in  Lenoir  and  Jones. 
They  w^ere  examined  before  Judge  Thomas.  Five 
of  them  turned  State's  evidence,  and  exposed  the 
secrets  of  the  Klan  and  the  crimes  of  their  confeder- 
ates. None  of  them  have  been  convicted.  Yet,  the 
result  of  these  arrests  was,  that  peace  and  order  were 
almost  immediately  re-established  in  those  Counties. 

"In  the  early  part  of  1870  I  employed,  in  Chatham, 
Capt.  I^.  A.  Kamsey,  and  in  Orange  iCapt.  Pride 
Jones,  both  belonging  to  the  political  party  opposed 
to  my  administration,  to  aid  in  repressing  the  Ku 
Klux  and  in  composing  the  troubles  in  those  Coun- 
ties.    Tlic}^  performed  their  duty  in  a  manner  which 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  143 


entitles  them  to  the  thanks  of  every  friend  of  law  and 
order. 

^'  In  July,  of  the  present  year,  I  deemed  it  my  duty 
to  embody  a  portion  of  the  militia,  and  to  make  a 
number  of  arrests  of  suspected  persons  in  the  Coun- 
ties  of   Alamance    and    Caswell.      I   exercised    this 
power  by  virtue  of  the  State  Constitution,  which  de- 
clares that  '^the  Governor  shall  be  Commander-in- 
Chief,  and  have  power  to  call  out  the  militia  to  exe- 
cute the  law,  suppress  riots  or  insurrection,  and  to 
repel  invasion."    And  also  by  virtue  of  an  Act  of  the 
General  Assembly,  passed  at  the  session  of  1869-'70, 
which  provides  that  the  '^Governor  is  hereby  author- 
ized and  empowered,  whenever  in  his  judgment  the 
civil  authorities  in  any  County  are  unable  to  protect 
its  citizens  in  the  enjoyment  of  life  and  property,  to 
declare  such  County  to  be  in  a  state  of  insurrection, 
and  to  call  into  active  service  the  militia  of  the  State 
to  such  an  extent  as  may  become  necessary  to  suppress 
such  insurrection;  and  in  such  case  the  Governor  is 
further  authorized  to  call  upon  the  President  for  such 
assistance,  if  any,  as  in  his  judgment  may  be  neces- 
sary to  enforce  the  law." 

'^  This  was  my  authority,  gentlemen,  for  the  course 
which  I  adopted  in  this  grave  emergency.  It  was  my 
sworn  duty,  as  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  State,  to  ''ex- 
ecute justice  and  maintain  truth."  I  was  satisfied 
that  the  civil  authorities  in  the  Counties  referred  to 
were  not  able  to  protect  their  citizens  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  life  and  property ;  and,  after  much  forbear- 
ance, and  many  remonstrances,  and  when  patience  waa 
exhausted,  I  could  adopt  no  other  course  which  prom- 


144  Memoiks  of  W.  W.  Holden 

ised  to  restore  civil  law  and  to  re-establish  peace  and 
order  in  these  iCounties. 

"  Many  of  the  persons  thus  arrested  Avere  examined 
before  the  Chief  Justice  and  two  of  the  Associate  Jus- 
tices of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  this  citv,  and  forty- 
nine  of  them  were  bound  over  to  appear  and  answer 
to  the  Superior  Courts  of  Caswell  and  Alamance.  It 
is  supposed  that  not  less  than  twenty  or  thirty  of  the 
worst  characters  in  Caswell  and  Alamance  and  other 
Counties,  have  fled  the  State,  to  escape  arrest  and 
punishment  for  their  numerous  crimes. 

""  The  correspondence  between  the  Chief  Justice 
and  myself  in  relation  to  these  matters,  and  all  the 
material  evidence  elicited  in  the  cases,  are  given  in 
the  Appendix  to  this  document,  to  which  I  invite  your 
attention. 

^'  I  did  not  proceed  to  final  action  in  this  matter 
until  I  had  consulted  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  which  I  did  in  person  in  July  last.  It  will  be 
seen,  by  his  letter  published  in  the  Appendix,  that  he 
sustained  me  in  my  action.  The  federal  troops  in  the 
State  at  that  time  were  re-inforced  by  his  order,  and 
every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  resistance  to 
the  steps  w^hich  I  deemed  absolutely  indispensable  to 
the  restoration  of  the  civil  law  and  the  re-establish- 
ment of  peace  and  order. 

'^  The  report  of  the  Adjutant  General,  which  will  be 
laid  before  you,  will  contain  information  as  to  the 
operations  of  the  militia  in  Alamance  and  Caswell, 
and  statements  of  the  expenses  of  the  same.  Any 
information  on  this  or  other  subjects  which  the  Gen- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  145 

eral   Assembly  may   desire,   will   be   promptly   and 
cheerfully  furnished. 

^'  The  result  of  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  Execu- 
tive, in  pursuance  of  the  Constitution  and  the  laws, 
has  been  in  the  highest  degree  fortunate  and  benfi- 
cial.  The  power  of  the  State  government  to  protect, 
maintain,  and  perpetuate  itself  has  been  tested  and 
demonstrated.  The  secret  organization  which  dis- 
turbed the  peace  of  society,  which  was  sapping  the 
foundations  of  the  government,  setting  the  law  at 
defiance,  and  inflicting  manifold  wrongs  on  a  large 
portion  of  our  people,  has  been  exposed  and  broken 
up.  Well  meaning,  honest  men,  who  had  been  decoyed 
into  this  organization,  have  availed  themselves  of  this 
opportunity  to  escape  from  it,  and  will  henceforth 
bear  their  testimony  against  it  as  wholly  evil  in  its 
principles  and  its  modes  of  operation.  A  score  or 
more  of  wicked  men  have  been  driven  from  the  State, 
while  those  of  the  same  character  who  remain  have 
been  made  to  tremble  before  the  avenging  hand  of 
power.  The  majesty  of  the  law  has  been  vindicated. 
The  poor  and  the  humble  now  sleep  unmolested  in 
their  houses,  and  are  no  longer  scourged  or  murdered 
on  account  of  their  political  opinions.  Peace  and 
good  order  have  been  restored  to  all  parts  of  the  State, 
with  the  exeception  of  the  (County  of  Robeson,  in 
which  some  murderers  and  robbers  are  still  at  large, 
but  it  is  expected  they  will  speedily  be  arrested  and 
brought  to  punishment.  In  view  of  this  altered  and 
gratifying  condition  of  things  I  issued  another  proc- 
lamation on  the  10th  of  this  month,  revoking  former 
proclamations  which  placed  Alamance  and  Caswell  in 

10 


146  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

a  state  of  insurrection.  Allow  me,  gentlemen,  to  say 
to  you  in  the  language  of  this  proclamation  of  the 
10th  instant,  that  I  trust  that  peace  and  good  order 
may  continue;  that  partisan  rancor  and  bitterness 
may  abate ;  that  our  people  of  all  classes  and  condi- 
tions may  cultivate  harmony  and  good  will  among 
themselves;  and  that  the  whole  people  of  the  State, 
without  resj^ect  to  party,  may  unite  fraternally  and 
cordially  to  build  up  North  Carolina,  and  to  elevate 
her  to  the  proud  eminence  which  she  once  occupied  as 
a  member  of  the  American  Union. 

*^  It  will  afford  me  pleasure,  gentlemen,  to  co-oper- 
ate with  you  in  such  measures  as  may  be  considered 
best  calculated  to  promote  the  prosperity  and  happi- 
ness of  our  people. 

^^  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect, 
"  Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.  HOLDEX." 


CHAPTEK   V. 

IMPEACHMENT 

CHIEF     JUSTICE     PEARSON LETTER     OF     GOVERNOR 

BROGDEN ATTITUDE    TOWARD   THE   REMOVAL   OF 

DISABILITIES LAST  LETTER  TO  THE   PUBLIC. 

"  The  Trial  of  William  W.  Holden,  Governor  of 
Xorth  Carolina,  on  Impeachment  by  the  House  of 
Eepresentatives,  for  High  Crimes  and  Misdemean- 
ors.    Published  by  order  of  the  Senate."     These  vol- 
umes thus  entitled  contain  three  thousajid  five  hun- 
dred pages  (3,500).  I  have  waded  through  them  all,  a 
heavy  task.    The  number  printed  is  very  small,  only 
about  three  hundred.    I  would  there  had  been  three 
thousand    (3,000).      Let   those   who   can,    obtain    a 
copy  and  read  for  themselves.    The  whole  proceeding 
on  the  part  of  the  State  against  the  respondent  was 
thoroughly    partisan.     The    counsel    for    the    State 
pressed  the  charges  against  me  with  as  much  partic- 
ularity and  vehemency  as  they  would  have  done  had 
I  been  arraigned  for  murder.     I  have  read  all  their 
speeches,  all  their  remarks  throughout  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings, all  their  examination  of  the  witnesses ;   and 
I  here  and  now  declare  with  the  utmost  solemnity, 
that  I  am  not  guilty  of  the  charges  preferred  against 
me,  and  ought  to  have  been  acquitted  on  all  of  the 
eight  as  I  was  on  the  first  two.     There  is  no  person 
so  well  qualified  to  say  I  am  not  guilty  as  myself.    I 
htiow  I  am  not  guilty. 


148  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

The  impeacliment  was  moved  and  sustained  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  by  Mr.  Frederick 
Strudwick,  of  Orange  County,  on  December  9, 
1870.  It  was  reported  on  by  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  on  the  14th  of  December, 
1870,  and  approved  by  the  House  on  the  same  date. 
On  the  19th  of  December,  Mr.  Strudwick,  in  the 
chair  of  the  House,  the  eight  (  8 )  articles  of  impeach-  _ 
ment  were  read  on  motion  of  Mr.  Welch,  and  \, 
were  adopted.  Messrs.  Sparrow,  Gregory,  Dunham,  ^ 
Scott,  Welch,  Broadfoot  and  Johnston,  of  Buncombe, 
were  appointed  managers, —  all  Democrats  —  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives,  to  conduct  the 
impeachment  before  the  bar  of  the  Senate,  also  Dem- 
ocratic by  two-thirds,  and  they  were  authorized  to 
associate  with  them  other  counsel  learned  in  law. 

The  trial  was  commenced  on  the  23rd  of  Decem- 
ber, 1870,  by  a  Court  of  Impeachment,  consisting  of 
the  Senate,  and  thirty-six  (36)  Senators  were  sworn 
as  constituting  an  organized  court  of  impeachment, 
as  announced  by  the  Chief  Justice.  Richard  C.  Bad- 
ger, Esq.,  one  of  my  counsel,  appeared  before  the 
court  and  announced  niy  purpose  to  appear  by  coun- 
sel. The  Chief  Justice,  who  was  presiding,  then  an- 
nounced that  the  whole  matter  would  stand  for  trial 
on  the  23rd  day  of  January,  1871.  Thirteen  (13) 
Senators  in  addition  were  added  on  that  day  of  Jan- 
uary, 1871,  making  the  whole  number  of  the  Court 
forty-nine  (49). 

On  the  first  (1)  day  of  February,  1871,  the  Hon- 
orable L.  C.  Edwards  presented  himself  and  asked 
to  be  sworn  as  Senator,  and  as  a  member  of  the 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  149 

Court  from  the  County  of  Granville.  My  counsel 
protested  against  Mr.  Edwards  being  added  to  the 
Court.  There  was  no  vote  taken  by  the  Court,  but 
the  Chief  Justice,  as  Presiding  Officer,  allowed  him 
to  be  sworn  and  take  his  seat,  thus  making  a  court  of 
fifty  (50),  when  really  and  truly  the  Court  as  organ- 
ized consisted  of  only  forty-nine  members. 

If  the  respondent  was  as  clearly  guilty  of  the 
charges  preferred  against  him  as  the  counsel  for  the 
State  assumed  he  was,  why  were  three  of  the  ablest 
lawyers  of  the  State  associated  with  them,  to  wit :  Ex- 
Governors  Graham  and  Bragg,  and  Hon.  A.  S.  Mer- 
riman,  at  one  thousand  each  as  fees?  This  obliged 
me  in  my  defense,  out  of  my  own  pocket,  to  employ 
Hon.  W.  ]Sr.  H.  Smith,  Hon.  ^Nathaniel  Boyden, 
Hon.  Edward  Conigland,  J.  M.  McCorckle,  and 
Kichard  C.  Badger,  Esq.,  and  to  pay  Mr.  Smith  and 
Mr.  Conigland  $1,000.00  each,  and  Mr.  McCorckle 
$500.00.  Seven  managers  on  part  of  the  House, 
aided  by  an  able  young  lawyer.  Sparrow,  and  three 
eminent  men,  two  of  them  Ex-Governors  of  the  State 
and  both  of  them  very  hostile  to  me,  and  all  Demo- 
crats, and  I  not  on  speaking  terms  with  either  of 
them,  because  I  offended  them  politically! 

Messrs.  Sparrow,  Welch,  Graham,  Bragg,  Smith, 
Conigland,  Boyden,  McCorckle,  Badger,  and  Pear- 
son, who  presided  at  the  trial  are  all  dead,  and 
Judge  Merriman  only  survives  of  the  counsel  em- 
ployed. 

W.  P.  Welch,  a  young  lawyer  from  Hay^vood 
County,  was  selected  to  open  the  preliminary  pro- 
ceedings against  me  in  the  Senate,  on  the  15th  day 


150  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

of  December,  1870.  I  find  his  remarks  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  impeachment  trial.  Whether  he  is  liv- 
ing or  dead  I  know  not.  I  hope  he  is  still  living.  He 
seemed  profoundly  impressed  with  the  awful  respon- 
sibilities of  the  situation.  He  said  he  had  found  a 
cause  and  found  a  criminal  whose  crimes  were  so 
great  that  such  iniquity  had  never  been  laid  to  the 
charge  of  anyone.  He  said  among  other  things,  "We 
impeach  him  in  the  name  of  human  nature  itself, 
w^hich  he  has  cruelly  outraged,  injured  and  op- 
pressed; and  in  conclusion  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives through  us  most  heartily  prays  that  God,  the 
God  of  Eternal  Justice,  will  protect  the  right.''' 

The  Senate  was  resolved  into  a  court,  and  the 
Chief  Justice  presided  as  required  by  the  State  Con- 
stitution. He  had  been  invited  to  do  so.  He  ac- 
quitted himself  in  this  position  ^vith  honesty  and 
ability.  He  was  only  required  in  this  position  not 
to  express  any  opinion  as  to  the  guilt  or  innocence 
of  the  accused,  but  only  to  conduct  the  proceedings 
of  the  court  in  accordance  with  the  well-known  and 


1  On  the  night  of  the  7th  of  October,  1836,  I  left  Hillsborough, 
a  lad  not  quite  18  years  of  age,  on  the  stage  coach  from  Greens- 
borough  with  several  young  men,  students  of  Caldwell  Institute. 
Among  them  was  (sic)  Thomas  Sparrow  and  William  J.  Clarke. 
I  was  destined  to  Governor  of  the  State  and  Sparrow  to  be  man- 
ager for  my  impeachment,  and  Clarke  to  command  my  troops. 

In  1874  I  was  Postmaster  in  Raleigh.  Mr.  Sparrow  called 
to  see  me.  We  had  a  long  and  pleasant  conversation.  Col. 
Clarke  had  meanwhile  reminded  him  of  what  occurred  34 
years  before.  He  told  me  that  he  had  been  moved  when  a 
young  man  to  preach  the  gospel,  but  had  declined  to  do  so. 
He  said  he  had  therefore  all  his  life  had  what  men  call  bad  luck. 
He  graduated  at  Princeton,  read  law  with  Judge  Gaston,  and 
entered  on  the  practice  well  equipped  and  with  bright  hopes.  He 
had  not  succeeded  as  he  had  expected  he  would.  He  knew  that  his 
party  would  impeach  me,  and  without  any  personal  dislike  to  me, 
he  desired  as  a  lawyer  to  have  the  reputation  of  appearing  against 
me.  He  died  a  year  or  two  ago.  His  son,  a  promising  young  law- 
yer at  Beaufort,  has  recently  left  the  profession  of  law  and  entered 
the  ministry. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  151 

well  settled  principles  of  Parliamentary  law.  I  had  no 
intercourse  with  him  after  the  trial  commenced.  I 
was  disposed  to  protect  him  in  his  then  situation  by 
abstaining  from  seeing  him  at  all.  But  I  had  the 
best  reasons  for  believing  afterwards  that  he  regarded 
me  as  innocent,  and  that  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
did  not  run  in  the  counties  of  Alamance  and  Caswell. 
Mr.  Boyden  told  me  in  my  house  in  Washington  City, 
in  1871,  that  Chief  Justice  Pearson  had  told  him 
that  I  had  the  right,  as  Governor,  to  put  those  two 
counties  in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and  therefore  the 
writ  did  not  run  in  those  counties.  ''And,"  said  Mr.  \ 
Boyden,  ''  he  gave  me  points  during  your  trial  on 
which  to  defend  you."  On  my  return  from  Washing- 
ton City  I  told  Mr.  Badger  what  Mr.  Boyden  had 
said.  Mr.  Badger  said,  "  Why,  he  has  told  me  the 
same  thing.  He  has  said  to  me  I  ought  to  have  held 
your  four  points.  I  held  but  three.  If  I  had  held 
your  fourth  point  the  writ  would  not  have  run  in 
those  three  counties."^  Mr.  feathery,  my  former 
Private  Secretary,  was  interrogated  at  length,  and 
with  much  particularity,  as  to  what  occurred  be- 
tween Judge  Pearson  and  himself  at  the  time  he  was 
sent  by  me  to  see  the  Judge.  He  was  sent  by  me 
because  the  time  had  arrived  for  a  hearing  in  the 
habeas  corpus  cases.  I  had  not  refused  habeas  cor-  \ 
pus,  but  had  simply  postponed  it  —  as  I  had  a  right 
to  do.  I  said  in  my  letter  to  Judge  Pearson,  dated 
August  15,  ''I  assure  your  Honor,  that  as  soon  as 
the  safety  of  the  State  should  justify  it,  I  would 

1  The  four  points  of  Mr.  Badger,  I  think,  were  made  in  his  argu- 
ment in  the  Habeas  Corpus  proceedings,  case  of  A.  G.  Moore,  July 
16,  1870.     But  his  speech  has  not  been  preserved.     [Ed.] 


152  Memoirs  of  W.  TT.  Holdex 

cheerfully  restore  the  civil  power,  and  cause  the  said 
parties  to  be  brought  before  you,  together  with  the 
cause  of  their  capture  and  detention."  Judge  Pear- 
son prepared  some  ten  or  twelve  years  ago  a  reply  to 
certain  charges  which  had  been  preferred  against 
him,  to  be  laid  before  the  General  Assembly  of  Xorth 
Carolina.  It  was  never  laid  before  that  body,  but 
was  published  in  the  Keivs  and  Observer,  The  copy 
of  the  defense  was  first  deposited  with  Major  Bag- 
ley,  the  Clerk  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Judge  Bagley, 
who  w^as  my  friend,  very  kindly  showed  me  the  doc- 
ument, and  allowed  me  to  make  a  copy  of  it.  He 
(Pearson)  was  charged  with  being  a  ^^tool  of  the 
Governor"  and  in  complicity  with  him  in  defeating 
the  ends  of  justice.^ 

I  quote  as  follows  from  this  document :  "  Writs 
were  issued  by  me  in  July,  to  which  the  same  reply 
was  made.  I  left  Raleigh  under  the  impression,  but 
without  any  communication  with  the  Governor,  that 
he  would  at  a  future  day  make  return  of  the  bodies, 
and  the  associate  justices  were  requested  by  me  to 
attend  when  notified  of  the  time  and  aid  in  the  ex- 
amination of  the  question  of  probable  causes.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  an  official  notice  that  the  Governor 
was  ready  to  return  the  bodies,  I  came  to  Raleigh, 
as  did  Justices  Dick  and  Settle,  and  the  return  was 
made."  This  showed  beyond  question,  that  I  had 
not  refused,  but  had  only  postponed  habeas  corpus. 

I  have  not  the  space  to  publish  all  the  correspon- 
dence between  Judge  Pearson  and  myself,  but  I  give 

*  I  have  searched  in  vain  to  find  a  copy  of  Judge  Pearson's 
Defense.  It  was  not  publislied  in  the  Veir.s  and  Observer  as  Gov. 
Ilolden  thinks.  Some  who  claim  to  have  seen  it  say  it  was  pub- 
lished In  the  newspapers ;  others  that  it  appeared  in  pamphlet 
form,     t  Ed.  ] 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  153 

below  my  letter  dated  Raleigli,  July  26,  and  another 
letter  to  Judge  Pearson,  dated  Raleigh,  August  15, 
and  another  letter  from  Judge  Pearson  to  me,  dated 
August  18,  1870. 

^'  Executive  Department, 

''  Raleigh,  July  26,  1870. 

To  the  Hon.  R.  M.  Pearson^ 

Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  N,  C. : 

"  Sir  : — I  have  had  the  honr  to  receive,  by  the 
hands  of  the  Marshal  of  the  Supreme  Court,  a  copy  of 
your  opinion  in  the  matter  of  A.  G.  Moore  ;  and  the 
Marshal  has  informed  me  of  the  writ  in  his  hands  for 
the  body  of  said  Moore^  now  in  the  custody  of  my 
subordinate  officer.  Col.  George  W.  Kirk. 

''I  have  declared  the  counties  of  Alamance  and  Cas- 
well in  a  state  of  insurrection,  and  have  taken  mili- 
tary possession  of  them.  This  your  Honor  admits  I 
had  the  power  to  do  "under  the  Constitution  and 
laws."  And  not  only  this,  "  but  to  do  all  things  nec- 
essary to  suppress  the  insurrection,"  including  the 
power  to  "  arrest  all  suspected  persons  "  in  the  above- 
mentioned  Counties. 

''Your  Honor  has  thought  proper  also  to  declare 
that  the  citizens  of  Alamance  and  Caswell  are  insur- 
gents, as  the  result  of  the  Constitutional  and  lawful 
action  of  the  Executive,  and  that  therefore,  you  will 
not  issue  the  w^it  for  the  production  of  the  body  of 
Moore  to  any  of  the  men  of  the  said  Counties ;  that 
''  the  posse  comitatus  must  come  from  the  County 
where  the  writ  is  to  be  executed,"  and  that  any  other 
means  would  be  illegal. 

"I  have  official  and  reliable  information  that  in  the 


154  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

Counties  above  named,  during  the  last  twelve  months, 
not  less  than  one  hundred  persons,  ''  in  the  peace  of 
God  and  the  State,"  have  been  taken  from  their  homes 
and  scourged,  mainly  if  not  entirely  on  account  of 
their  political  opinions ;  that  eight  murders  have 
been  committed,  including  that  of  a  State  Senator, 
on  the  same  account ;  that  another  State  Senator 
has  been  compelled  from  fear  for  his  life  to  make 
his  escape  to  a  distant  State.  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  the  governments  of  the  said  Counties  have  been 
mainly  if  not  entirely  in  the  hands  of  men  who  be- 
long to  the  Kuklux  Klan,  whose  members  have  per- 
petrated the  atrocities  referred  to;  and  that  the 
County  governments  have  not  merely  omitted  to  fer- 
ret out  and  bring  to  justice  those  of  this  Klan  who 
have  thus  violated  the  law,  but  that  they  have  actu- 
ally shielded  them  from  arrest  and  punishment.  The 
State  judicial  power  in  the  said  Counties,  though  in 
the  hands  of  energetic,  learned  and  upright  men, 
has  not  been  able  to  bring  criminals  to  justice:  in- 
deed, it  is  my  opinion,  based  on  facts  that  have  come 
to  my  knowledge,  that  the  life  of  the  Judge  whose 
duty  it  is  to  ride  the  circuit  to  which  the  said  Coun- 
ties belong,  has  not  been  safe,  on  account  of  the 
hatred  entertained  towards  him  by  the  Klan  referred 
to,  because  of  his  wish  and  purpose  to  bring  said  crim- 
inals to  justice.  For  be  it  known  to  your  Honor  that 
there  is  a  widespread  and  formidable  secret  organiza- 
tion in  this  State,  partly  political  and  partly  social 
in  its  objects;  that  this  organization  is  kno^\^l,  first, 
as  "The  Constitutional  Union  Guard," — secondly, 
as  "The  White  Brotherhood," — thirdly,  as  "The  In- 
visible Empire:" — that  the  members  of  this  organiza- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  155 

tion  are  united  by  oaths  which  ignore  or  repudiate 
the  ordinary  oaths  or  obligations  that  rest  upon  all 
other  citizens  to  respect  the  laws  and  to  uphold  the 
government ;  that  these  oaths  inculcate  hatred  by  the 
white  against  the  colored  j)eople  of  the  State;  that 
the  members  of  this  Klan  are  irreconcilably  hostile 
to  the  great  principle  of  political  and  civil  equality, 
on  which  the  government  of  this  State  has  been  re- 
constructed; that  these  Klans  meet  in  secret,  in  dis- 
guise, with  arms,  in  uniform  of  a  certain  kind  in- 
tended to  conceal  their  persons  and  their  horses,  and 
to  terrify  those  whom  they  assault  or  among  whom 
they  move;  that  they  hold  their  camps  in  secret 
places,  and  decree  judgment  against  their  peaceable 
fellow-citizens,  from  mere  intimidations  to  scourg- 
ings,  mutilations  and  murder,  and  that  certain  per- 
sons of  the  Klan  are  deputed  to  execute  these  judg- 
ments; that  when  the  members  of  this  Klan  are  ar- 
rested for  violations  of  the  law,  it  is  most  difficult  to 
obtain  bills  of  indictment  against  them,  and  still 
more  difficult  to  convict  them,  first,  because  some  of 
the  members  or  their  sympathizers  are  almost  always 
on  the  grand  and  petit  juries,  and  secondly,  because 
witnesses  who  are  members  or  sympathizers  unblush- 
ingly  commit  perjury  to  screen  their  confederates 
and  associates  in  crime;  that  this  Klan,  thus  con- 
stituted and  having  in  view  the  objects  referred  to, 
is  very  powerful  in  at  least  twenty-five  Counties  of 
the  State,  and  has  had  absolute  control  for  the  last 
twelve  months  of  the  Counties  of  Alamance  and  Cas- 
well. 

"  Under  these  circumstances  I  would  have  been 


156  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

recreant  to  my  duty  and  faithless  to  my  oath,  if  I 
had  not  exercised  the  power  in  the  several  Counties 
which  your  Honor  has  been  pleased  to  say  I  have 
exercised  Constitutionally  and  lawfully;  especially 
as,  since  October,  1868,  I  have  repeatedly,  by  procla- 
mations and  by  letters,  invoked  public  opinion  to  re- 
press these  evils,  and  warned  criminals  and  offenders 
against  the  laws  of  the  fate  that  must  in  the  end 
overtake  them,  if,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Klan  re- 
ferred to,  they  should  persist  in  their  course. 

'^I  beg  to  assure  your  Honor  that  no  one  subscribes 
more  thoroughly  than  I  do  to  the  great  principles  of 
habeas  corpus  and  trial  by  jury.  Except  in  extreme 
cases,  in  which  beyond  all  question  ''  the  safety  of 
the  State  is  the  supreme  law,''  these  privileges  of 
habeas  corpus  and  trial  by  jury  should  be  maintained. 

''I  have  already  declared  that,  in  my  judgment, 
your  Honor  and  all  the  other  civil  and  judicial 
authorities  are  unable  at  this  time  to  deal  with  the 
insurgents.  The  civil  and  the  military  are  alike  Con- 
stitutional powers — ^the  civil  to  protect  life  and  prop- 
erty when  it  can,  and  the  military  only  when  the 
former  has  failed.  As  the  Chief  Executive  I  seek 
to  restore,  not  to  subvert,  the  judicial  power.  Your 
Honor  has  done  your  duty,  and  in  perfect  harmony 
with  you  I  seek  to  do  mine. 

"It  is  not  I  nor  the  military  power  that  has  sup- 
planted the  civil  authority;  that  has  been  done  by 
the  insurrection  in  the  Counties  referred  to.  I  do 
not  see  how  I  can  restore  the  civil  authority  until  I 
"  suppress  the  insurrection,"  which  your  Honor  de- 
clares I  have  the  power  to  do ;    and  I  do  not  see  how 


Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden  157 

I  can  surrender  the  insurgents  to  the  civil  authority 
until  that  authority  is  restored.  It  would  be  a  mock- 
ery in  me  to  declare  that  the  civil  authority  was  un- 
able to  protect  the  citizens  against  the  insurgents,  and 
then  turn  the  insurgents  over  to  the  civil  authority. 
My  oath  to  support  the  Constitution  makes  it  imper- 
ative on  me  to  ^'  suppress  the  insurrection "  and 
restore  the  civil  authority  in  the  Counties  referred 
to,  and  this  I  must  do.  In  doing  this  I  renew  to  your 
Honor  expressions  of  my  profound  respect  for  the 
civil  authority,  and  my  earnest  wish  that  this  author- 
ity may  soon  be  restored  to  every  County  and  neigh- 
borhood in  the  State. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.  Holden,  Governor/* 

^^  State  of  x^orth  Carolina^  Executive  Depart- 
ment^ Raleigh^ 

Aug.  15th,  1870. 
''To  the  Hon.  E.  M.  Pearson, 

Chief  Justice  Supreme  Court  of  N.  C: 

"  Dear  Sir  :  In  my  answer  to  the  notices  served 
upon  me  by  the  Marshall  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in 
the  matter  of  Adolphus  G.  Moore  and  others,  ex- 
parte,  I  stated  to  your  Honor  that  at  that  time  the 
public  interests  forbade  me  to  permit  Col.  George  W. 
Kirk  to  bring  before  your  Honor  the  said  parties ;  at 
the  same  time  I  assured  your  Honor  that  as  soon  as 
the  safety  of  the  State  should  justify  it,  I  would 
cheerfully  restore  the  civil  power,  and  cause  the  said 


7 


158  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

parties  to  be  brought  before  you,  together  with  the 
cause  of  their  caption  and  detention. 

^^  That  time  has  arrived,  and  I  have  ordered  Col. 
George  W.  Kirk  to  obey  the  writs  of  habeas  corpus 
issued  by  your  Honor.  As  the  number  of  prisoners 
and  witnesses  is  considerable,  I  would  suggest  to  your 
Honor  that  it  would  be  more  convenient  to  make  re- 
turn to  the  writs  at  the  capitol  in  Raleigh.  Col.  Kirk 
is  prepared  to  make  such  return  as  soon  as  your 
Honor  shall  arrive  in  Raleigh. 
With  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.  HoLDEjj^^  Governor/^ 


"  Raleigh,  August  18,  1870. 

"To  His  Excellency  GovER^'OR  Holdex: 

"Dear  Sir:  Your  communication  of  the  15th  inst. 
w^as  handed  to  me  by  Mr.  ]^eathery. 

"I  will  be  in  the  Supreme  Court  room  at  10  o'clock 
A.  M.,  19th  inst.,  to  receive  the  return  by  Col.  Kirk, 
of  the  bodies  of  A.  G.  Moore  and  others,  (in  whose 
behalf  Writs  of  Habeas  Corpus  have  heretofore  been 
issued  by  me,)  together  Avith  the  cause  of  their  arrest 
and  detention. 

''  Receiving  the  return  after  the  delay  to  which  you 
allude  of  several  weeks,  is  not  to  be  taken  as  con- 
curring, on  my  part,  in  the  necessity  for  the  delay, 
or  as  assuming  any  portion  of  the  responsibility  in 
regard  to  it.     The  entire  responsibility  rests  on  you. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  159 

I  was  unwilling  to  plunge  the  State  into  a  civil  war, 
upon  a  mere  question  of  time. 
With  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

R  M.  Pearson,  /.  S.  C/' 

One  morning,  during  the  spring  of  1870,  Chief 
Justice  Pearson  called  to  see  me  at  my  house.  We 
conversed  a  good  while.  Among  other  things,  he 
said,  ^^  The  Senate  of  this  State  had  been  chosen  for 
four  years."  He  said  it  was  chosen  for  four  years 
and  he  could  prove  it  beyond  question.  He  said  he 
hoped  I  would  confer  with  him,  and  that  I  would  aid 
him  in  a  case  to  be  made  up  by  the  Supreme  Court. 
I  was  surprised  at  the  suggestion.  The  proposition 
was  to  me  a  new  one.  I  had  not  thought  of  it.  But 
I  said  to  him:  ^^ Judge,  the  people  in  voting  for  the 
Constitution  no  doubt  believed  they  were  voting  for 
two  years  for  the  Senate,  and  not  four  years.  And 
besides  it  is  written  the  different  departments  of  gov- 
ernment shall  be  kept  always  separate  and  distinct. 
According  to  this  rule  I  could  not  beforehand  confer 
with  the  court."  He  seemed  to  be,  as  he  no  doubt 
was,  profoundly  in  earnest.  The  Senate  at  that  time 
was  by  two-thirds  Republican.  It  was  the  first  Sen- 
ate under  the  new  Constitution.  I  did  not  think  of 
the  matter  any  more  until  I  was  impeached.^ 

^  This  account  of  Judge  Pearson's  opinion  of  the  term  of  the 
Legislature  of  1869-70  is  of  interest.  In  December,  1869,  the 
Legislature  adopted  a  resolution  asking  the  opinion  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  North  Carolina  regarding  the  term  for  which  it  was 
elected.  The  reply  of  the  court  was  made  in  January,  1870.  Judge 
Pearson  held  that  the  term  was  two  years,  and  Judge  Dick  con- 
curred. The  other  Judges  (Reade,  Rodman,  and  Settle)  refused 
to  give  an  opinion,  holding  that  the  question  was  of  a  political 
nature.  (Leg.  Doc.  1869-70.)  From  these  facts  the  conversation 
between  Judge  Pearson  and  Governor  Holden  must  have  taken 
place  in  the  spring  of  1869,  not  1870.    [Ed.] 


160  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holder 

Again,  the  Honorable  Xathaniel  Boyden,  one  of 
my  counsel,  told  me  in  Washington  City,  after  my 
conviction,  that  Chief  Justice  Pearson,  who  presided 
over  the  court,  did  not  believe  me  guilty,  and  gave 
him  points  to  use  in  my  defense.  He  said  the  Chief 
Justice  said  to  him  I  had  the  right  to  refuse  the  writ 
in  Alamance  and  Caswell;  in  other  words,  the  writ 
did  not  run  in  those  Counties.  On  my  return  from 
Washington  City  I  repeated  this  to  Mr.  R.  C.  Bad- 
ger, also  one  of  my  counsel.  He  said  the  Chief  Jus- 
tice had  so  told  him. 

Mr.  Boyden  was  very  anxious  for  my  acquittal. 
He  evinced  deep  feeling  in  the  matter.  He  said  to 
me  one  day :  ^'  Governor,  I  am  authorized  to  say,  and 
I  do  say  to  you,  that  if  you  would  use  your  influence 
in  the  Legislature  to  call  a  convention,  the  impeach- 
ment proceeding  will  be  stopped."  I  said :  ''  Mr. 
Boyden,  I  am  the  first  Governor  under  the  new  Con- 
stitution. I  cannot  support  a  convention  to  amend 
the  Constitution  at  this  time.  The  Constitution  has 
hardly  yet  been  tried.  I  am  committed  against  the 
convention.  I  could  not  do  evil  that  good  might 
come."  He  seemed  perplexed  and  troubled  and  said : 
"  Why  not  ?  are  you  afraid  to  trust  the  people  ?  I 
am  disposed  to  think  well  of  the  Constitution  gener- 
ally, but  it  ought  to  be  amended,  and  you  are  too 
careful  and  squeamish  for  your  own  good."  I  went 
over  that  day  to  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives and  met  Dr.  Thomas  W.  Young,  my  brother- 
in-law,  and  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, who  said :  ''  Governor,  we  want  to  call  a  con- 
vention and  lack  but  eight  or  ten  votes  of  doing  so. 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  161 

What  do  you  say  ?"  I  answered,  ''  Dr.  I  cannot 
agree  to  the  arrangement  to  call  a  convention  on  my 
account/'  This  showed  that  the  matter  had  been 
talked  about.  To  what  extent,  I  know  not.  He 
added,  ^'  We  can  do  it  in  both  Houses,  if  you  will 
agree  to  it.''    I  said,  "  'No,  I  cannot  do  it." 

Chief  Justice  Pearson's  defense  of  himself, 
heretofore  referred  to,  and  not  sent  to  the  House,  but 
only  published  in  the  News  and  Observer ^  dwelt  at 
length  on  the  gross  injustice  done  to  him  by  my 
enemies  in  charging  him  that  he  was  my  tool.  The 
fact  that  he  was  thus  assailed  and  maligned  afforded 
the  best  proof  that  he  was  my  friend.  If  I  had  con- 
curred with  him,  and  made  up  the  case  for  the  Su- 
preme Court,  I  could  not  have  been  impeached,  for 
the  reason  either  that  the  case  would  have  been  pend- 
ing, or  it  would  have  been  decided  in  my  favor,  for 
the  Senate,  as  heretofore  stated,  was  by  two-thirds  a 
Republican  body,  and  if  I  had  consented  to  Mr. 
Boyden's  proposition,  the  proceedings  of  the  impeach- 
ment court  would  have  ceased. 

It  was  rumored  during  my  impeachment  that  ar- 
ticles of  impeachment  had  been  prepared  against 
(Chief  Justice  Pearson  for  acting  as  my  tool  in  regard 
to  habeas  corpus.  Whether  this  is  so  or  not,  I  know 
not.  If  so,  the  intention  was  to  have  a  victim,  either 
myself  or  Pearson.  In  my  own  case  it  was  calcu- 
lated and  believed  that  if  I  could  be  impeached  and 

1  On  Feb.  8th,  1871,  a  bill  authorizing  a  convention  was  passed. 
But  Tod  R.  Caldwell,  Lieutenant  Governor  and  acting  executive 
during  the  impeachment,  refused  to  order  the  election,  holding 
that  the  convention  bill  was  unconstitutional.  In  this  view  he 
was  supported  by  an  opinion  of  Judge  Pearson.  This  makes  Gov- 
ernor Holden's  account  of  an  offer  to  compromise  the  impeachment 
for  his  support  of  the  convention  all  the  more  Interesting.   [Ed.] 

11 


162  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

silenced  the  Republican  Party  in  jSTorth  Carolina 
would  gradually  and  surely  cease  to  exist.  I  know 
nothing  about  the  motives  of  others,  and  I  impeach 
no  one  as  to  their  purposes ;  I  simply  state  the  naked 
facts,  and  leave  the  public  to  draw  tlieir  own  infer- 
ence. I  was  certainly  impeached  by  party  man- 
agers and  party  counsel,  by  a  party  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, and  by  a  party  Senate.  And  to  show 
their  fear  of  me  as  a  party  man  I  was  declared  unfit 
to  hold  office  in  my  native  State.  This  was  the 
'^most  unkindest  cut  of  all."  I  submitted  to  it  all 
quietly.  Suppose,  for  example,  Chief  Justice  Pear- 
son had  said  to  the  Senate :  '^  Gentlemen,  on  calmly 
reviewing  this  entire  case,  I  am  obliged  to  say,  as  I 
have  said  already  to  Messrs.  Boyden  and  Badger,  the 
writ  of  habeas  corpus  does  not  run  in  the  counties  of 
Alamance  and  Caswell.  By  the  authority  given  by 
the  law,  to-wit,  by  the  Shoffner  Act,  the  Governor 
had  the  right  that  whenever  in  his  judgment  it  should 
be  done,  and  he  had  done  it  already  in  both  counties, 
all  civil  law  is  suspended,  and  the  writ  cannot  be 
enforced.  Therefore  the  Governor  is  innocent,  and 
should  be  discharged."  What  would  have  occurred  ? 
He  did  not  dare  do  that.  If  he  had  done  so  the 
Senate  would  in  all  probability  have  declared  his  seat 
as  Chief  Justice  vacant,  and  would  have  filled  the 
vacancy  and  proceeded  with  a  new  Chief  Justice. 
In  this  they  would  probably  have  failed  to  command 
a  two-thirds  vote,  and  the  Governor  would  therefore 
have  been  acquitted.  I  was  solicited  anxiously  by 
many  friends  to  run  again  for  Governor.  IsTo  doubt 
Caldwell,  who  succeeded  me,  would  have  given  place 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  163 

to  me  and  so  would  have  Settle,  who  ran  against 
Vance.  ^-^ 

The  seven  managers  of  the  impeachment  appointed 
by  the  House,  to-wit:  Messrs.  Sparrow,  Gregory, 
Dunham,  Welch,  Johnson,  of  Buncombe,  Scott  and 
Broadfoot,  and  Ex-Governor  Bragg,  Ev-Governor 
Graham,  and  Judge  A.  S.  Merrimon,  as  counsel,  rep- 
resented the  State,  and  Messrs.  W.  ]^.  H.  Smith,  ISTa- 
thaniel  Boyden,  J.  M.  McCorckle,  Edward  Conig- 
land,  and  R.  C  Badger  represented  the  respondent, 
Holden.  The  articles  of  impeachment,  or  the  bill  of 
indictment,  consisted  of  eight  articles.  The  respond- 
ent was  acquitted  by  a  two-thirds  vote  on  the  first  and 
second  articles.  These  two  articles  both  contain  the 
following  words :  "  That  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
State  of  E'orth  Carolina,  the  Governor  of  said  State 
has  power  to  call  out  the  militia  thereof  to  execute 
the  laws,  suppress  riots  or  insurrections,  and  to  repel 
invasion,  whenever  the  execution  of  the  law  shall  be 
resisted,  or  there  shall  exist  any  riot,  insurrection  or 
invasion ;  but  not  otherwise.  That  William  W.  Hol- 
den, Governor  of  said  State,  unmindful  of  the  high 
duties  of  his  ofiSce,  the  obligation  of  his  solemn  oath 
of  office,  and  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  said  State, 
and  intending  to  stir  up  civil  war,  and  pervert  per- 
sonal and  public  liberty  and  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  said  State,  and  of  the  United  States,  and  con- 
tinuing and  intending  to  humiliate  and  degrade  the 
said  State,  and  the  people  thereof,  and  to  provoke  the 
people  to  wrath,  and  violence,  did,  under  color  of  his 
said  office,  on  the  seventh  (7)  day  of  March  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 


164  Me:moirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

seventy,  in  said  State,  of  his  own  false,  corrupt,  and 
wicked  mind  and  purpose,  proclaim  and  declare  that 
the  county  of  Alamance  in  said  State  was  in  insur- 
rection, and  did,  after  the  days  and  time  last  afore- 
said, send  bodies  of  armed,  desperate  and  lawdess 
men,  organized  and  set  on  foot  without  authority  of 
law,"  etc. 

The  vote  on  this  first  article  was  thirty  (30)  to 
convict,  to  acquit  nineteen  (19).  Leaving  out  Mr. 
Edwards  and  Mr.  James  A.  Graham  of  Alamance 
who  occupied  the  seat  formerly  occupied  by  Mr. 
Shoff ner  —  who  had  fled  the  State  from  fear  for  his 
life  —  and  the  vote  would  have  been  twenty-eight 
(28)  instead  of  thirty  (30)  for  conviction.  On  the 
second  (2nd)  article  the  vote  was  thirty-two  (32) 
for  conviction  and  seventeen  (17)  for  acquital; 
omitting  Graham  and  Edwards,  the  vote  for  convic- 
tion would  have  been  thirty  (30).  Counting  both 
names  for  acquital,  as  in  justice  and  right  should 
have  been  done,  in  the  first  case  it  w^ould  have  been 
twenty-one  (21)  ;  in  the  second,  nineteen  (19).  The 
third  article  charging  me  with  having  incited  and 
procured  one  John  Hunnicutt  to  arrest  Josiah  Tur- 
ner, Jr.,  had  no  foundation  in  fact,  as  I  never  gave 
Hunnicutt  any  such  orders.  This  passed  by  four 
(4)  majority  over  the  required  two-thirds.  The 
fourth  (4)  article  passed  by  thirty-three  (33)  to 
sixteen  (16).  It  barely  passed  the  two-thirds  ma- 
jority. The  fifth  article  passed  by  forty  (40)  to 
nine  (9).  The  sixth  article  passed  by  forty-one  (41) 
to  eight  (8).  The  eighth  article  by  thirty-six  (36) 
to  thirteen  (13).     On  motion  of  Mr.  Senator  Gra- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  165 

ham,  of  Orange,  the  judgment  of  the  court  was  then 
prayed  on  the  respondent  in  the  third,  fourth,  fifth, 
sixth,  seventh  and  eighth  articles,  and  he  was  re- 
moved from  the  office  of  Governor,  and  disqualified 
to  hold  any  office  of  trust  or  honor  under  the  State 
of  North  (Carolina.  Mr.  Moore  of  Craven,  said: 
-^  Before  the  vote  is  taken,  with  the  permission  of  the 
court,  I  would  like  to  make  a  statement  in  regard  to 
the  vote  I  am  about  to  cast.  I  would  not  object  to  the 
order  offered  by  the  Senator  from  Orange,  Mr.  Gra- 
ham, if  it  merely  pronounced  a  judgment  removing 
the  respondent  from  his  office.  I  think  that  under 
the  evidence  which  has  been  elicited  in  the  case  the 
penalty  providing  for  disqualification  of  the  respond- 
ent to  ever  hold  office  in  this  State  is  severe.  Be- 
cause that  feature  is  included  in  the  judgment  I  shall 
be  compelled  to  vote  against  the  order."  Mr.  Senator 
Cowles  also  said :  '^  Mr.  Chief  Justice,  I  desire  before 
the  iCourt  shall  finally  adjourn,  to  say  that  I  regret 
that  the  court  did  not  take  a  day  to  mature  and  con- 
sider its  judgment.  I  am  by  no  means  satisfied  with 
the  propriety  of  the  disqualifying  clause  contained 
in  the  order  of  judgment  adopted.  I  simply  desire 
to  make  this  statement  and  ask  that  it  appear  in  the 
published  proceedings."  The  vote  was  then  taken 
on  Mr.  Senator  Graham's  motion  and  resulted,  yeas 
thirty-six  36,  nays  13.  The  Senate  as  a  court  of 
impeachment  then  adjourned,  sine  die, 

I  attended  every  day,  very  promptly,  the  im- 
peachment trial  up  to  the  eighteenth  day.  On  that 
day  Josiah  Turner,  Jr.,  was  a  witness.  I  quote  from 
the  nine  hundred  and  sixth  (906)  page  of  the  "  Im- 


166  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

peachmeiit  Trial  of  Governor  W.  W.  Holden." 

Q.  What  are  jour  personal  feelings  towards  the  ac- 
cused? Are  they  friendly?  A.  I  suppose  as  good 
as  they  ever  were. 

Q.  That  is  not  exactly  answering  my  question  — 
What  are  they  now?  A.  They  are  just  what  they 
ought  to  be  between  a  good  and  a  bad  man. 

The  Respondent.  Mr.  Chief  Justice,  I  will  not 
submit  to  this  language.  I  am  not  going  to  be  in- 
sulted here. 

Senator  Edwards^  Mr.  Chief  Justice,  I  rise  to  a 
question  of  order.  The  Respondent  can  only  be 
heard  through  his  counsel. 

The  Chief  Justice,  Are  you  on  good  or  bad  terms 
with  him?  A.  There  are  no  terms  between  us.  I 
have  never  passed  a  dozen  words  with  him  in  my  life. 
I  never  had  any  social  relations  with  him.  I  never 
passed  a  dozen  words  with  him  in  my  life  —  hardly 
a  good  morning. 

Of  course  I  retired.  Mr.  Turner  said  in  his  evi- 
dence that  he  had  never  passed  a  dozen  words  with 
me  in  his  life.  Mr.  Turner,  when  in  Raleigh  during 
his  canvassing  for  the  Confederate  Congress,  talked 
with  me  for  some  time  and  he  and  I  adjourned  to 
Mr.  Lougee's  restaurant  on  Fayetteville  Street,  and 
took  a  drink  together  of  Lougee's  whiskey.  My 
paper.  The  Standard,  was  for  him  for  Congress,  and 
really  elected  him  over  Mr.  Arrington.  Mr.  Turner 
was  forgetful,  as  I  am  myself. 

In  a  few  days  I  left  for  Washington  City.  In  the 
course  of  a  day  or  two  I  called  in  to  see  President 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  167 

Grant.  He  asked  me  if  I  knew  that  a  number  of  my 
triers,  members  of  the  Senate,  were  Ku  Klux.  I 
told  him  I  supposed  thej  were,  but  that  was  a  matter 
for  his  Attorney-General  and  my  two  Senators.  I 
had  heard  soon  after  my  impeachment  from  a  Demo- 
crat of  character  that  the  Dens  had  decreed  my  im- 
peachment. In  regard  to  my  power  as  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  Militia  of  the  State,  I  relied  for 
power  to  pursue  the  course  I  did  on  the  act  known  as 
the  Shoffner  Act,  which  passed  in  January,  1870. 
This  act  provided  in  express  terms  that  the  Governor 
"when  in  his  judgment  it  was  proper  to  do  so,  could 
proclaim  counties  in  insurrection,  thereby  suspend- 
ing the  operation  of  the  civil  law.''  I  had  never 
heard  the  constitutionality  of  this  act  questioned. 
Leading  men  in  the  Democratic  party  who  had  de- 
termined in  advance  on  my  impeachment  had  quietly 
and  sedulously  produced  the  impression  that  this  act 
was  unconstitutional.  I  have  before  me  a  letter 
dated,  Goldsboro,  August  31,  1883,  from  William  A. 
Allen,  a  Senator  from  Duplin  and  Wayne  at  the 
session  when  I  was  impeached,  and  who  voted  against 
me.  In  this  letter  he  says :  "  I  also  want  to  say  to 
you  that  I  have  had,  and  while  you  were  on  trial  in 
your  impeachment,  I  said  to  Governor  Bragg  that  I 
had  some  difficulty  about  as  a  lawyer  in  the  question 
of  your  guilt,  and  asked  him  to  discuss  it,  which  he 
did  not,  and  that  was,  as  to  whether  you  could  justify 
under  the  Shoffner  act,  an  unconstitutional  act  of 
the  Legislature.  It  was  the  difficulty  of  the  case 
with  me.  I  have  wanted  to  say  this  to  you  sev- 
eral times  but  a  favorable  opportunity  has   never 


168  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holder 

presented  itself.  Governor  Bragg  declined  to  express 
himself  to  me  on  the  subject,  and  sedulously  avoided 
it  in  his  discussion." 

Mr.  Allen  was  a  special  personal  friend  of  mine, 
and  an  honest  man.  It  will  be  seen  that  he  speaks 
of  the  Shoffner  act  as  unconstitutional.  Who  told 
him  so  ?  Had  the  Supreme  Court  said  so  ?  Ko. 
Had  the  Chief  Justice  said  so  ?  No.  Mr.  Allen  him- 
self was  a  good  lawyer,  but  not  of  the  order  of  law- 
yers of  which  I  have  just  spoken,  who  seriously  in- 
culcated an  opinion  which  they  failed  to  boldly  and 
frankly  assert.  Shoffner,  poor  man,  was  driven  from 
the  State.  His  life  was  threatened  and  his  name 
blotted  out  as  far  as  the  impeachers  could  do  it,  and 
the  impression  prevails  generally  among  my  enemies 
that  the  Shoffner  act  was  unconstitutional.  ISTo  good 
lawyer  of  any  party  will  say  so  now.  Mr.  Shoffner 
left  this  State  in  September,  1870,  and  I  have  before 
me  a  letter  from  him  dated  Pittsboro,  Indiana,  Oc- 
tober 12,  1870.  I  did  not  reply  to  the  letter,  and 
have  not  heard  from  him  since.  Whether  he  is  liv- 
ing or  dead  I  do  not  know.  But  one  thing  I  do  know, 
and  that  is,  the  State  of  North  (Carolina,  which 
allowed  him  without  cause  to  be  driven  from  the 
State  ought  to  reimburse  him  for  his  losses  incurred 
in  being  broken  up  and  driven  out.  His  only  offense 
was  that  he  was  the  author  of  the  act  which  passed 
the  Senate  and  the  House  authorizing  the  Governor 
to  declare  counties  in  insurrection,  to  put  do\vn  the 
Ku-Klux,  and  against  lynch  or  mob  law.  ^^His 
offence  hath  this  extent,  no  more."  Whether  living 
or  dead,  wherever  he  is,  he  is  a  true  man  and  a 


Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden  169 

worthy  citizen.     He  represented  Guilford  and  Ala- 
mance in  the  Senate. 

Ex-Governor  Curtis  H.  Brogden  is  now  like  my- 
self, an  old  man.  I  saw  him  first  in  1838,  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Commons  from  the  County  of 
Wajne.  He  is  a  man  of  unquestioned  integrity  and 
veracity.  He  has  been  in  public  life  nearly  all  his 
life,  and  as  they  used  to  say  in  olden  times,  speaking 
of  men,  "his  word  is  always  as  good  as  his  bond."  It 
is  a  pleasure  to  have  such  a  man  for  a  friend.  He 
sat  in  the  Senate  patiently  throughout  the  whole 
trial.  I  have  lately  written  him  for  the  facts  in  the 
trial  and  for  his  impressions.  It  is  now  twenty 
(20)  years  since  it  took  place  and  I  would  like  to 
be  sustained  in  my  recollections 

*At  my  Country  Home^  neae  Goldsboeo^  ^.  C, 

Feb.  12,  1890. 
**Gov.  W.  W.  Hoeden: 

*<My  Esteemed  Friend: — I  was  pleased  to  receive 
your  kind  letter  but  was  very  sorry  to  hear  of  your 
bodily  affliction. 

"I  often  think  of  your  laborious,  useful,  and  event- 
ful life,  and  the  vicissitudes  through  which  you  have 
passed,  and  my  warmest  sympathies  and  best  wishes 
are  for  you. 

"Although  you  have  suffered  great  wrong  and  in- 
justice by  the  malign  influence  of  partisan  animosity, 
you  will  still  live  in  history  as  one  who  has  ^done 
the  State  some  service.'  While  the  past  is  gone  and 
cannot  be  recalled  but  in  memory,  we  should  look 
hopefully  forward  to  the  rewards  of  the  true  Chris- 


170  Memoies  of  W.  W.  Holden 

tians  in  a  fairer  and  better  world,  'where  the  wicked 
cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest.' 

"  The  'sketch'  to  which  you  allude,  especially  to 
the  impeachment,  is  too  important  for  me  to  do  any- 
thing like  justice  to  without  some  time  for  prepa- 
ration. I  shall  be  glad  to  assist  you  if  I  can  some 
time  hence  when  I  have  more  time  and  better  oppor- 
tunity —  I  mean  time  to  spare  from  my  daily  labors. 
It  seems  that  your  greatest  offense  was  in  trying  to 
stop  crime,  while  acting  under  the  Constitution  and 
laws,  because  the  laws  then  in  existence  fully  author- 
ised you  to  do  what  you  did  do.  The  whole  history 
of  your  administration  as  Governor  shows  that  you 
did  all  you  could  to  maintain  and  preserve  peace 
and  order  among  the  people  and  to  stop  the  many 
t  and  abominable  Ku  Klux  crimes.  This  is  shown  by 
your  proclamation  and  by  your  letters  to  Dr.  Pride 
Jones,  a  prominent  democrat  of  Orange,  T.  A.  Don- 
oho,  a  prominent  democrat  of  Caswell,  and  Capt. 
1^.  A.  Ramsay,  a  prominent  democrat  of  Chatham 
County,  earnestly  requesting  them  to  use  their  in- 
fluences in  their  respective  counties  to  stop  lawless- 
ness and  crime,  and  suppress  the  violence  and  out- 
rages of  the  Ku  Klux  Klan,  when  no  one  was  safe  at 
night  at  home,  who  happened  to  come  under  the  dis- 
pleasure of  those  wicked  bands.  The  civil  authori- 
ties were  powerless  to  bring  these  offenders  against 
law  and  humanity  to  justice.  They  compelled  Shoff- 
ner,  a  Republican  Senator,  to  leave  his  own  home  in 
Alamance,  sacrifice  his  property,  and  flee  to  another 
State  to  avoid  being  murdered. 

"The  Legislature  then  passed  an  act  to  hold  a  spe- 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  171 

cial  election  to  supply  his  place,  on  the  24th  of  De- 
cember, 1870.  They  were  in  such  hot  haste  to  fill 
his  place  that  the  act  was  only  passed  the  l7th  of 
December,  1870.  The  Eepublicans  were  so  dis- 
heartened that  they  took  no  interest  in  the  election; 
indeed  they  were  intimidated  and  afraid  to  try  to 
vote,  and  the  democrats  carried  the  election  their 
own  way  and  elected  James  A.  Graham.  That  was 
a  democrat  in  place  of  a  Eepublican;  but  the  dem- 
ocratic Senators  still  thought  that  there  might  be 
some  doubt  about  their  having  sufficient  strength  in 
the  Senate  to  pass  their  impeachment  resolutions, 
so  they  went  to  work  to  unseat  R.  W.  Lassiter,  a 
Eepublican,  who  was  honestly  and  fairly  elected, 
and  to  put  L.  C.  Edwards,  a  democrat,  who  was  not 
elected,  in  his  place.  They  passed  an  act  on  the 
6th  of  December,  1870,  appointing  W.  A.  Allen, 
Senator  from  Duplin,  ^a  commissioner  to  take  the 
depositions  of  such  witnesses  as  might  be  produced 
before  him  at  such  times  and  places  as  he  might  des- 
ignate.' The  commissioner  was  given  all  the  powers 
of  a  judge  of  the  Superior  Court,  and  was  to  decide 
upon  the  competency  or  relevancy  of  testimony.  It 
was  a  one-sided  business,  as  the  commissioner  was 
in  the  interest  of  the  democratic  party,  and  only  al- 
lowed such  evidence  as  he  wanted,  and  upon  that 
Lassiter  was  turned  out  and  Edwards  was  put  in 
his  place. 

"It  was  then  ascertained  that  Moore  and  Lehman, 
two  Eepublican  Senators  from  Craven,  would  vote 
with  the  democrats  for  the  impeachment  resolutions. 


172  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

and  on  that  question  they  shamefully  misrepresented 
the  party  that  elected  them, 
^'It  was  by  such  means  as  these  that  (that)  democrats 

t  got  votes  enough  to  pass  their  impeachment  resolu- 
tions in  the  Senate.  On  the  day  the  final  vote  was 
taken,  two  of  their  Senators,  I  mean  Dargan  and 
Murphy,  were  brought  in  by  the  doorkeepers  drunk, 
but  as  to  that,  they  had  as  well  been  drunk  as  sober, 
as  it  had  been  decided  in  caucus  to  pass  the  resolu- 
tions. 

'^ Among  the  first  acts  passed  by  the  democratic 
Legislature  of  1870-71  was  an  act  to  repeal  ^an  act 
to  secure  the  better  protection  of  life  and  property.' 
The  repeal  of  that  act  only  encouraged  the  Ku  Klux 
to  continue  their  lawlessness  and  crime.  They 
thought  they  would  be  protected. 

"The  impeachment  trial  proved  that  the  Ku  Klux 
were  so  numerous  that  no  one  could  deny  their  ex- 
istence.   It  was  shoT\Ti  in  Alamance  County  a  major- 

.  ity  of  the  democratic  voters  belonged  to  the  order, 
and  that  Albert  Murray,  the  Sheriff  of  the  County, 
was  a  member  of  it,  and  was  chief  of  a  Ku  Klux 
camp  near  his  residence,   and   there  were  ten  Ku 

^  Klux  camps  in  Alamance  County. 

j^You  were  charged  falsely  with  ^intending  to  stir 
up  civil  war  and  subvert  public  and  personal  liberty, 
and  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  N^orth  Carolina, 
and  of  the  United  States,  and  contriving  and  intend- 
ing to  humiliate  and  degrade  the  people.'J  I  believed 
then,  as  I  do  now,  that  this  charge  was  false,  and 
after  you  have  suffered  imder  that  and  other  false 
charges  for  twenty  years  I  think  it  is  high  time  for 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  173 

the  Legislature  to  do  you  justice,  by  restoring  you  to 
the  equal  enjojTuent  of  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  a  free  citizen  of  ^orth  Carolina. 

"At  the  Ku  Klux  trials  in  Ealeigh,  in  1871.  whon 
Shotwell  and  others  were  convicted  and  sent  to  the 
Penitentiary  for  their  crimes,  it  was  ascertained  that 
there  were  so  many  of  them  in  the  State,  and  their 
crimes  were  so  numerous,  that  many  good  democrats 
became  alarmed  about  the  future  success  of  the 
democratic  party  in  the  State,  and  some  of  the  most 
prominent  democrats  who  attended  the  Court  and 
heard  much  of  the  evidence  in  regard  to  the  Ku  Klux 
crimes  addressed  the  following  letter,  dated  Raleigh, 
September  30,  1871,  to  Hon.  H.  L.  Bond,  Judge  of 
U.    S.    Circuit  iCourt. 

^  Sir :  We  have  the  honor,  in  the  interest  of  the 
peace  of  the  people  of  !N^orth  Carolina,  to  address 
you  this  note.  The  fact  that  a  secret,  unlawful  or- 
ganization, called  '^the  Ku  Klux  or  Invisible  Em- 
pire,''  exists  in  certain  parts  of  the  State  has  been 
manifested  in  the  recent  trials  before  the  Court  in 
which  you  preside.  We  condemn  without  reservation 
all  such  organizations.  We  denounce  them  as  dan- 
gerous to  all  good  government,  and  we  regard  it  as 
the  eminent  duty  of  all  good  citizens  to  suppress 
them.  E'o  right  minded  man  in  North  Carolina  can 
palliate  or  deny  the  crimes  committed  by  these  organ- 
izations. 

^  In  presenting  these  considerations  to  your  honor, 
we  declare  that  it  is  our  duty  and  purpose  to  exert 
all  the  influence  we  possess  and  all  the  means  in  our 
power  to  absolutely  suppress  the  organization  and  to 


174  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

secure  a  lasting  and  permanent  peace  to  the  State. 
The  laws  of  the  country  must  and  shall  be  vindicated. 
We  are  satisfied,  and  give  the  assurance,  that  the 
people  of  North  Carolina  will  unite  in  averting,  and 
forever  obliterating  an  evil  which  can  bring  nothing 
but  calamity  to  the  State.  In  the  name  of  a  just  and 
honorable  people,  and  by  all  the  considerations  which 
appeal  to  good  men,  we  solemnly  protest  that  these 
violations  of  law  and  public  justice  must  and  shall 
cease. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  etc., 

(Signed)  Thomas  Bragg,  Daniel  F.  Fowle,  B.  F. 
Moore,  M.  W.  Ransom,  R.  H.  Battle,  Jr.,  Geo.  V. 
Strong,  Joseph  B.  Batchelor,  Wm.  M.  Shipp,  Will. 
H.  Battle,  and  D,  M.  Barringer.' 

"Gov.  Bragg  was  at  that  time  Chairman  of  the 
Democratic  State  Executive  Committee,  and  after 
his  death  D.  M.  Barringer  took  his  place.  I  should 
like  to  copy  the  whole  letter  if  I  had  space,  but  I 
have  not.  It  was  a  strong  appeal  to  Judge  Bond  for 
clemency  and  mercy.  Col.  Wheeler  published  it  in 
his  Reminiscences  and  Memoirs  of  North  Carolina, 
under  the  head  of  Warren  County. 

"When  a  large  number  of  Ku  Klux  were  to  be  tried 
at  Columbia,  S.  C,  it  was  reported  that  Gen.  Wade 
Hampton,  and  other  prominent  democrats,  employe"! 
that  eminent  lawyer  of  Baltimore,  Reverdy  Johnson, 
at  a  fee  of  $10,000,  to  go  to  Columbia  to  defend  them. 
He  went,  but  after  going  into  the  trials  and  hearing 
the  evidence,  the  proof  of  their  many  atrocious  crimes 
was  so  strong  and  conclusive  that  he  could  not  de- 
fend them,  and  his  speech  was  a  powerful  appeal  for 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  175 

mercy  and  pardon.  He  admitted  their  crimes  and 
their  guilt,  and  could  only  beg  for  mercy. 

''The  Ku  Klux  trials  in  the  U.  S.  Court  at  Raleigh, 
in  1871,  revealed  the  fact  that  many  horrid  outrages 
and  crimes  had  been  committed  by  them  in  different 
parts  of  the  State.  It  was  unknown  how  many  of 
these,  if  they  were  ever  brought  to  trial,  would  have 
to  go  to  jail,  to  the  penitentiary,  or  to  the  gallows, 
and  that  was  the  reason  why  those  leading  democrats 
desired  the  postponement  of  the  matter,  if  possible, 
it  was  thought,  until  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature, 
so  that  they  could  then  get  an  act  passed  granting 
amnesty  and  pardon  for  all  the  Ku  Klux. 

''  When  the  Legislature  met  it  did  pass  'an  act 
for  amnesty  and  pardon'  for  all  the  crimes  com- 
mitted or  charged  to  have  been  committed  previous 
to  the  first  day  of  September,  1871,  and  every  Ku 
Klux  in  the  State  was  granted  full  and  complete 
'amnesty  and  pardon,'  even  for  'wilful  murder, 
arson  and  burglary.'  They  were  all  given  the  ben- 
efit of  this  act. 

"  If  the  Legislature  thought  proper  to  pass  'an  act 
for  amnesty  and  pardon'  for  all  the  crimes  commit- 
ted by  the  Ku  Klux,  or  in  their  name,  there  can  be  no 
good  reason  why  the  Legislature  ought  not  to  pass  an 
act  to  relieve  or  pardon  the  man  who  did  the  best  he 
could,  while  acting  under  the  law,  to  stop  the  Ku 
Klux  crimes.  It  is  absurd  to  say  that  a  subsequent 
Legislature  cannot  repeal,  abrogate,  or  revoke  any 
act  or  resolution  of  a  former  Legislature.  To  assert 
that  one  Legislature  cannot  alter  or  repeal  any  of 
the  acts  of  a  former  Legislature  is  to  assert  that  any 


176  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holdex 

of  our  lawSj  however  unjust  and  injurious  tliey  may 
be,  can  never  be  altered,  but  remain  as  unchangeable 
as  the  laws  of  the  Modes  and  Persians.  Such  an 
absurd  heresy  cannot  be  seriously  entertained  by  any 
man  of  common  sense  in  Xorth  Carolina. 

"I  must  now  close.  I  did  not  intend  to  write  a  polit- 
ical letter,  but  I  have  been  compelled  to  refer  to  the 
democratic  party  in  order  to  vindicate  the  truth  of 
history.  I  would  not  misrepresent  anybody  or  any 
party  if  I  knew  it.  I  have  spoken  from  the  record, 
and  I  might  speak  a  great  deal  more  from  the  record 
were  it  necessary.    But  let  this  suffice  for  the  present. 

^'I  am  willing  to  confer  with  our  friend  Xeathery 
in  regard  to  carrying  out  your  wishes,  if  we  should 
be  the  longest  livers.  But  I  hope  you  will  live  to 
publish  your  Book  in  your  lifetime  and  in  your  own 
way.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  will  be  a  valuable  con- 
tribution to  our  history. 

' 'Hoping  that  God's  greatest  blessings  may  rest 
upon  and  abide  with  you  always  and  that  your  days 
on  earth  may  still  be  many  and  happy,  I  remain, 
with  my  highest  regards  and  best  wishes, 
Your  true  and  faithful  friend, 

C.  H.  Brogden.^ 

^  The  views  of  Governor  Brogden  and  the  correspondence  with 
Thomas  Goode  Tucker,  given  on  a  later  page,  have  convinced  me  of 
the  propriety  of  publishing  the  following  letter  written  by  Edward 
Conigland  to  Thomas  L.  Clingman,  during  the  constitutional  con- 
vention of  1875.     [Ed.] 

Halifax,  N.  C,  September  21,  1875. 
Gen.  Thos.  ly.  Clingman,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

Dkar  Sir  :  It  seems  that  an  ordinance  for  the  removal  of  Mr. 
Holden's  disability  will  be  called  up  tomorrow,  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  Convention,  and  that  it  is  probable,  it  may  meet  with 
your   support. 

Were  I  to  attempt  to  discuss  this  question,  I  could  not  say  any- 
thing that  will  not  be  much  better  said  by  others.     I  write  simply 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  177 

In  regard  to  this  act  passed,  granting  amnesty  and 
pardon  for  all  the  Kii-Klux,  including  the  forty-nine 
(49)  bound  over  by  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  mur- 
der of  John  W.  Stephens  and  Wyatt  Outlaw,  and 
who  were  never  tried  because  of  this  act,  I  may  here 
state  that  being  in  Hillsboro  in  the  fall  of  1872,  I 
was  invited  by  Colonel  Thomas  Ruffin,  deceased,  to 
his  room,  and  there  he  appealed  to  me  in  most  earnest 
terms  to  agree  to  this  act  or  rather  not  to  oppose  it. 
I  agreed  not  to  oppose  it,  especially  as  he  mentioned 


to  submit  a  view  of  the  case  which  is  very  different  from  that  en- 
tertained by  the  pubUc  generally. 

Mr.  Holden  is  regarded  by  the  Conservatives  of  the  ^5tate  as  the 
prime  mover  in  all  the  political  crimes  with  which  he  was  charged. 
But  the  knowledge  obtained  by  me,  as  one  of  his  counsel  in  the  im- 
peachment trial,  enables  me  to  say  that  he  was  rarely,  if  at  all, 
the  instigator  of  any  of  the  measures  for  which  he  stood  impeached, 
so  bitterly,  and  so  justly,  complained  of.  Men  in  public  position 
are  but  the  exponents  of  the  party  in  which  they  belong,  and  a 
true  analysis  of  Mr,  Holden's  conduct  proves  that  he  was  no  worse 
than  those  who  placed  him  in  power,  and  was,  in  fact,  made  the 
scape-goat  for  their  sins.  Of  all  the  men  who,  when  he  was  in 
office,  took  an  active  part  in  the  government  of  the  State,  he  was, 
in  my  opinion,  in  all  respects  the  best.  Yet  many,  if  not  most  of 
them,  deserted  him  in  his  hour  of  need,  although  if  he  had  not 
been  restrained  by  his  sense  of  honor,  he  could  easily  nave  proved, 
on  his  trial,  that  he  had  often  resisted  their  counsel,  and  that  many 
of  the  measures  which  he  adopted  and  which  brought  his  difficulties 
upon  him,  were  the  result  of  their  persistent  urging.  His  errors 
were  of  the  head  and  not  of  the  heart. 

Mr.  Holden  had  bitter  enemies,  and  on  his  trial  some  seemed  to 
pursue  him  with  a  malignity  born  of  hate.  It  is  due  to  this, 
that  the  penalty  of  disqualification  from  office  was  imposed  upon 
him.  If  any  of  his  friends  had  made  a  6owa  fide  effort  to  divide 
the  question,  so  as  to  have  taken  the  sense  of  the  Senate,  first  on 
the  removal  from  office, and  secondly,  on  the  disqualification  to 
hold  office,  the  disability,  in  my  opinion,  would  not  have  been  im- 
posed but,  in  fact,  the  matter  was  allowed  to  go  by  default. 

Possibly  I  may  have  suggested  a  view  of  the  case  different  from 
that  entertained  by  some  members  of  your  body,  and  therefore  if 
this  letter  can  disabuse  the  mind  of  any  of  them  of  prejudices 
against  Mr.  Holden,  you  will  please  use  it  in  his  behalf.  Were  I 
a  member  of  the  Convention  I  should  unhesitatingly  vote  for  the 
removal  of  Mr.  Holden's  disabilities,  and  I  do  not  know  an  intelli- 
gent Conservative  in  this  nation,  who  would  not  do  likewise. 

With  high  regard. 

Truly  yrs, 

Ed  WD.    CONIGLAND. 


12 


178  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

the  fact  that  a  number  of  young  men  who  had  fled 
the  State  were  anxious  to  return,  and  lead  different 
lives;  and  he  mentioned  especially  of  that  number 
a  young  man  who  had  been  a  witness  in  my  impeach- 
ment, and  who  had  sworn  in  that  trial  that  he  was 
never  a  Ku-Klux,  and  was  hanged  unjustly  by  Ber- 
gen. It  turned  out  at  last  that  with  seventeen  oth- 
ers he  had  been  presented  by  the  Grand  Jury  of 
Alamance  as  a  Ku-Klux,  and  one  of  the  murderers 
of  Wyatt  Outlaw.  I  at  that  time  agreed  to  a  corres- 
pondence with  Mr.  Boyd  at  Colonel  Ruffin's  request, 
which  was  published  in  the  newspapers  in  which  we 
both  assented  to  this  amnesty  bill.  The  act  passed, 
and  became  a  law,  and  so  all  the  Ku-Klux  were  par- 
doned in  advance.  Xot  a  word  was  said  in  either 
House  by  the  Democrats  about  my  pardon.  My 
friends  were  not  inclined  to  ask  for  my  pardon,  be- 
cause they  said  I  had  done  nothing  to  be  pardoned 
for. 

After  this  (my  impeachment)  I  could  not  hold 
office  under  the  State  government.  I  could  only  hold 
Federal  office.  In  1873  President  Grant  offered  me 
the  Raleigh  post  office.  I  accepted  it,  and  held  it 
four  years.  In  1877,  when  my  first  term  was  out,  I 
wrote  to  President  Hayes  and  asked  to  be  retained. 
He  continued  me  for  four  years.  And  then  under 
General  Garfield,  who  was  President,  I  asked  to  be 
continued  for  four  years  more,  and  he  refused.  I 
had  run  the  office  eight  years,  on  the  sum  allowed  at 
the  beginning  of  the  eight  years.  I  worked  very 
hard,  and  so  did  my  clerk,  because  the  business  of 
the  office  had  increased  fifty  per  cent  at  least.     At 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  179 

the  beginning  of  General  Garfield's  administration, 
in  response  to  my  urgent  request,  he  increased  the 
sum  to  $550.00.  With  this  I  employed  a  ISTegro 
man  as  clerk.  Previously  during  the  eight  years  re- 
ferred to,  I  had  paid  out  of  my  own  pocket  for  two 
years  to  a  clerk  who  by  law  could  get  only  four  hun- 
dred dollars ;  that  is  my  chief  clerk  and  myself  paid 
him  $150  per  annum  for  two  years;  I  paid  (altogeth- 
er) $150,  and  my  chief  clerk  $50.  The  opposition 
to  my  continuing  in  the  post  oflBce  arose  from  the  fact 
that  I  didn't  employ  JSTegro  clerks.  I  had  been,  and 
still  was,  a  Grant  man  against  all  comers.  I  went  to 
Washington  to  see  about  it.  I  saw  the  President  by 
appointment.  He  was  very  polite  and  kind,  but  said 
he  had  promised  the  place  to  another.  I  told  him 
that  was  the  only  place  I  wanted,  and  he  said,  ^'  Gov- 
ernor, I  know  your  history  well,  and  I  am  every  way 
disposed  to  give  you  some  place.  Select  any  place  I 
have,  and  you  shall  have  it,  but  not  this  one."  I 
might  then  have  said,  ''Mr.  President,  as  you  have 
said  any  place  you  have  is  at  my  disposal,  then  give 
me  the  collectorship  of  the  Fourth  Collector's  Dis- 
trict in  E'orth  Carolina."  Of  course  he  would  have 
done  it,  for  he  was  so  pledged.  But  I  could  not  do 
that ;  for  the  office  was  occupied  by  Col.  I.  J.  Young. 
On  leaving  the  White  House  I  saw  Mr.  John  Nichols, 
and  said  to  him :  ''John,  the  President  is  going  to  ap- 
point you."  I  was  also  opposed  by  Judge  Tourgee, 
a  E'orthern  man,  and  Colonel  Shaifer,  the  present 
postmaster,  also  a  ITorthern  man. 

I  publish  the  following  correspondence  that  took 
place  in  January,  1887,  in  relation  to  the  removal  of 


180  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

my  disabilities  imposed  by  the  impeachment  and  con- 
viction. Mr.  Tucker  is  since  dead.  He  was  a  fine 
specimen  of  the  old-time  gentleman,  and  an  Andrew 
Jackson  Democrat  who  never  wavered.  He  had 
taken  my  paper  for  years,  and  knew  me  well,  and  was 
attached  to  me  as  a  friend. 

"  South  Gaston^  I^.  C, 

•     ''January  8,  1887. 

"Governor  W.  W.  HoldejS". 

My  dear  Sir  : — You  will  probably  be  greatly  sur- 
prised at  receiving  this  note  and  equally  so  at  the  sug- 
gestion it  contains.  You  must  recollect  that  I  have 
been  an  attentive  observer  of  political  events  of  a  local 
as  well  as  of  a  general  nature.  J^ow  is  the  time  for 
action  on  your  part  to  endeavor  to  obtain  a  removal 
of  your  disabilities.  I  would  suggest  that  the  move 
be  made  by  an  independent  Democrat.  I  think  that 
Richmond  Pearson  would  prove  the  most  serviceable, 
although  I  know  nothing  of  him  except  what  was 
developed  in  the  canvass  for  the  Legislature.  He 
certainly  has  pertinacity  of  a  useful  character,  and 
this,  when  backed  by  good  sense,  moral  worth,  and 
truth,  is  of  great  value  in  a  political  move  such  as  is 
here  suggested. 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  no  moment  whether  success  at- 
tends the  effort  or  not,  so  far  as  your  political  future 
is  involved.  I  presume  you  understand  all  that  with- 
out an  explanation  from  me. 

Respectfully, 

Thomas  Goode  Tucker.^'' 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  181 

"  Raleigh^  January  22,  1887. 

"  Thomas  Goode  Tuckek^  Esq. 

My  dear  Sir : — Your  kind  letter  has  been  received. 
I  am  grateful  to  you  for  your  suggestion  in  relation 
to  my  disabilities,  but  I  cannot  myself  take  any  action 
on  the  subject. 

"Two  years  ago  Mr.  Gudger,  the  Senator  from  Bun- 
combe, interested  himself  in  the  matter,  and  showed 
me  a  list  of  a  majority  of  Senators  who  had  pledged 
to  vote  for  my  relief,  but  he  said  that  one  of  the  Sen- 
ators, (now  Judge  Connor)  had  announced  his  pur- 
pose to  oppose  it  in  debate.'  I  then  told  Mr.  Gudger 
he  would  bear  witness  that  I  had  not  asked  for  it; 
that  to  be  a  gracious  and  friendly  act  it  should  be 
voluntary;  that  I  did  not  want  the  people  to  be  ex- 
cited and  angry  about  it  which  would  follow  debate 
in  the  two  Houses ;  and  that  he  would  please  drop  the 
matter.    This  he  did  with  much  reluctance. 

"What  I  did  as  Governor  was  done  under  oath  be- 
fore the  world,  from  no  other  motive  than  to  uphold 
the  Constitution  and  the  law,  and  I  was  not  at  all 
influenced  by  party  feeding  or  policy.  All  my  proc- 
lamations running  through  a  space  of  eighteen  months 
teemed  with  an  appeal  to  the  people  of  the  State 
without  regard  to  party  or  color  to  rally  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  law,  and  thus  avert  the  alternative  forced 
on  me.  I  cannot  beg  for  my  pardon,  and  thus  admit 
my  guilt  any  more  than  Mr.  Davis  can.  If  he  should 
do  that,  I  should  feel  that  I  had  lost  part  of  my 
respect  for  him.     Only  one  thing  touching  the  pro- 

1  H.  A.  Gudger,  of  Buncombe,  Democrat.  H.  G.  Connor,  Demo- 
crat, was  chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  Senate.  [Ed.] 


182  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

ceedings  against  me  gives  me  pain,  and  that  is  the 
utterly  unfounded  charge  that  I  acted  corruptly  and 
"wickedly  and  in  defiance  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
law.  In  all  I  did  I  had  only  in  view  the  maintenance 
of  the  law  and  the  quiet  and  happiness  of  the  people. 

'^  I  was  glad  to  hear  from  you.  I  am  glad  to  know 
that  you  have  been  spared  to  a  happy  and  serene  old 
age,  and  I  sincerely  trust  that  your  last  days  may  be 
in  all  respects  your  very  best.  Your  voice  to  me  is 
a  consoling  and  cheering  one  from  the  domain  of  the 
past,  for  I  am  still  a  devotee  of  what  the  Democratic 
party  was  before  the  war.  l^ow,  I  have  no  party, 
but  I  do  not  regret  that  I  gave  the  best  years  of  my 
life  to  build  up  that  party  before  the  War.  War  im- 
plies desolation  and  change  and  new  things. 

'^  Your  cousin,  my  dear  wife,  desires  to  be  kindly 
remembered  to  you.  We  should  be  very  glad  to  see 
you  in  Raleigh  during  the  session  of  the  Legislature. 
By  all  means  come  and  stop  with  us. 

'^  P.  S.  Please  do  not  understand  me  as  uttering 
any  language  against  my  native  State.  I  love  my 
mother  State,  no  matter  how  she  treats  me.  I  am 
satisfied  with  a  sense  of  my  own  integrity. 

W.   W.   HOLDEX. 

But  friends  like  Mr.  Tucker  have  insisted  that  I 
ask  the  General  Assembly  to  lift  the  ban  which  is 
upon  me.  I  trust  I  am  not  foolishly  proud,  and  that 
while  I  am  hurt  but  not  angered,  I  feel  acutely  the 
fact  that  I  am  pronounced  by  my  mother  State  an 
unfit  person  to  hold  office.  I  cherish  no  resenment 
towards  any  person  for  what  has  occurred  in  the 


Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden  183 

past.  I  am  at  peace,  or  would  be,  with  all  men.  My 
life  has  been  a  somewhat  stormy  one,  but  it  is  well 
nigh  over.  I  wish  to  die  with  no  earthly  or  heavenly 
ban  on  me,  and  I  would  that  the  world  would  accept 
the  Golden  Rule  of  the  Divine  Master,  "  Do  unto  all 
men  as  ye  would  they  should  do  unto  you."  I  am 
now  walking  quietly  and  serenely  on  the  shore  of  that 
'^great  ocean  I  must  sail  so  soon." 

This  is  most  probably  the  last  letter  I  shall  ever 
write  to  the  public. 

MY   LAST    LETTEE   TO    THE   PUBLIC. 

We  live  in  altered  and  in  new  times.  The  events 
of  the  past,  and  the  condition  of  things  in  the  present, 
warn  us  of  the  paramount  importance  of  Law  and 
Order.  There  is  no  safety  to  society  save  in  the 
reign  of  Law.  I  have  always  held  this  as  a  citizen 
and  as  an  officer.  I  hold  it  still,  with  added  tenacity, 
if  possible.  The  paramount  thought  with  all  public 
officers  should  be.  What  is  my  duty?  Not  what  the 
crowd,  or  the  mobs,  or  bodies  of  friends  desire  or 
advise,  but  what  is  right  now,  without  regard  to 
party.  George  Washington  himself  warns  us  against 
the  fatal  danger  of  party  spirit.  General  Andrew 
Jackson  does  the  same.  Their  farewell  addresses  are  < 
invaluable.  General  Jackson  once  said  to  Col.  Bed- 
ford Brown,  his  personal  political  friend,  "  Colonel 
Brown  you  will  live  to  see  a  great  civil  war  in  this 
country  about  slavery.  I  will  not  live  to  see  it,  but 
I  put  you  on  your  guard.  The  tariff  has  been  pro- 
claimed by  Duff  Green  too  weak  to  divide  the  Union, 
but  he  says  slavery  is  strong  enough  to  do  it.     Mr. 


184  Memoirs  of  W.  W.  Holden 

Calhoun  and  Mr.  Preston  make  speeclies  for  the 
South  and  against  the  x^orth,  and  the  l^orth  in  turn 
assails  the  South.  One  side  cuts  the  wood  and  lays 
it  down  and  the  other  sets  fire  to  it.  If  this  sectional 
feeling  is  continued  I  fear  the  worst."  Jackson  and 
Washington  were  wise  and  forecasting.  We  now 
have  a  restored  Union.  It  is  the  strongest  govern- 
ment on  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  really  seems  to 
possess  all  power.  The  States  are  not  very  powerful, 
and  never  will  be.  The  rights  of  States  are  dead. 
I  simply  state  facts.  I  do  not  say  who  did  this  thing 
or  that  thing.    I  speak  only  of  results. 

Mr.  Webster  said  in  one  of  his  great  speeches  in 
the  Senate,  that  if  the  pillars  of  the  Union  should 
fall  "they  would  be  raised  not  again."  It  is  not  the 
same  Union,  and  it  never  will  be. 

"  Pass  on,  relentless  world,  I  grieve 
No  more  at  all  that  thou  hast  riven. 
Pass  on  in  God's  name,  only  leave 
The  things  thou  never  yet  hast  given: — 
A  heart  at  ease,  a  mind  at  home. 
Affections  fixed  above  thy  sway, 
Faith,  set  upon  a  world  to  come 
And  patience  through  life's  little  day." 

The  public's  most  obedient  servant, 

W.  W.   HOLDEN. 


APPENDIX 


R.  C.  BADGER  ON   THE  GENESIS  OF  THE 
MILITARY  MOVEMENT  OF  1870 

On  March  23,  1871,  the  day  after  the  Impeach- 
ment proceedings  were  ended,  Mr.  Latham  (Dem.), 
member  of  the  State  Senate,  introduced  a  resolution 
raising  a  ^'  Committee  of  Inquiry  into  the  conduct  of 
John  Pool,  U.  S.  Senator."  The  resolution  was 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  30  to  8,  and  on  March  30  Messrs. 
Latham  (Dem.),  Jones  (Dem.),  and  Moore  (Rep.), 
were  appointed  to  make  the  investigation.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  committee  were  not  published  in  any 
of  the  legislative  documents  but  in  the  newspapers. 
Those  who  testified  were  R.  C.  Badger,  D.  A.  Jen- 
kins, James  H.  Harris  (col.),  and  I.  J.  Young.  The 
most  important  witness  was  R.  C.  Badger.  His  tes- 
timony is  here  given  because  it  brings  out  evidence 
nowhere  else  available,  and  because  the  newspaper 
files  in  which  it  was  published  have  not  been  well 
preserved.  The  following  report  is  that  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Daily  Sentinel,  April  8,  1871. 

WM.  K.  BOYD. 


Appendix 

SECRET  HISTORY  OF  THE  HOLDEN-KIRK  WAR. 

INVESTIGATION   COMMITTEE— TESTIMONY  OF  R.  C.  BADGER, 
ESQ.— SENATOR  POOL's  PROGRAMME. 

We  are  enabled  to  lay  before  our  readers  this 
morning  a  portion  of  the  evidence  taken  before  the 
special  committee  of  the  General  Assembly  appointed 
to  investigate  the  conduct  of  Senator  Pool  in  regard 
to  the  late  outrageous  conduct  of  Gov.  Holden  in 
his  arbitrary  arrests  and  imprisonments.  We  give 
Mr.  E.  C.  Badger's  testimony  in  full,  and  will  follow 
it  by  that  of  other  witnesses : 

Eichard  C.  Badger  being  duly  sworn,  deposes  and 
says: 

Question.  Do  you  remember  being  present  at  a 
meeting  or  consultation  in  the  Executive  office,  in 
the  city  of  Ealeigh,  between  Gov.  Holden,  John  Pool 
and  other  members  of  the  Eepublican  party,  on  or 
about  the  8th  of  June,  1870?  If  so,  state  what  oc- 
curred, and  particularly  what  was  said  and  done  by 
Mr.  Pool. 

Answer.  Some  time  during  the  last  summer  term 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  I  think  during  the  first 
week.  Pool  was  here  in  Ealeigh.  As  I  heard  from 
him,  and  know  from  seeing  him  in  the  room,  and 
hearing  him  argue  causes,  he  was  at  that  time  in  at- 


188  Appendix 

tendance  upon  the  Court.  Some  time  during  that 
week,  I  think,  and  if  not,  then  certainly  in  the  next 
week,  I  was  asked  to  go  to  Gov.  Holden's  office  to 
consult  in  regard  to  the  outrages  in  Alamance,  Cas- 
well, and  other  portions  of  the  State.  It  was  stated 
to  me  by  the  person  who  invited  me  that  Mr.  Pool  and 
several  other  leading  Eepublicans  would  be  present. 
I  cannot  say  positively  at  what  time  of  the  day  the 
meeting  began,  but  my  impression  is  about  3  o'clock. 
It  was  very  protracted.  During  the  continuance  of 
the  meeting  several  persons  who  were  not  there  at 
the  beginning  came  in,  and  several  who  were  at  the 
beginning  went  out.  My  recollection  is  not  perfect 
as  regards  all  the  persons  who  were  present,  but  the 
following,  at  least,  were  some  of  them,  to  wit:  the 
Governor,  John  Pool,  Jas.  H.  Harris  (col.),  Isaac 
J.  Young,  Gen.  Willie  D.  Jones.  I  do  not  recollect 
distinctly  about  Col.  Clarke,  but  think  he  was,  but 
my  impression  is  not  very  decided.  My  impression 
as  regards  the  presence  of  Mr.  Treasurer  Jenkins  is 
the  same  as  that  I  have  concerning  Clarke,  only  one 
more  decided.  I  am  not  certain  as  to  United  States 
Marshal  Carrow  or  Auditor  Adams.  I  think  the 
latter  was  present,  and  I  think  the  same  as  to  Hood 
(col.)  Assistant  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, and  W.  T.  Henderson. 

When  I  came  in  it  was  stated  to  me  that  the  object 
of  the  meeting  was  to  take  into  consideration  what 
advice  should  be  given  Gov.  Holden  as  to  the  course 
he  should  pursue  to  suppress  the  outrages  in  Ala- 
mance,  Caswell  and  several  other  counties  in  the 


Appendix  189 

State.  There  was  a  long  discussion  as  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  State  and  the  necessity  of  destroying  what 
we  called  the  Ku  Klux  organization.  It  was  con- 
ceded by  all  present  that  the  ordinary  civil  tribunals 
had  failed  to  accomplish  that  object,  and  that  unless 
some  other  force  was  brought  to  bear  Eepublicans, 
white  and  colored,  could  not  live  in  certain  parts  of 
!N"orth  Carolina.  There  was,  also,  considerable  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  remedy.  In  these  discussions  a 
great  many  of  those  present  took  no  part  —  some 
were  silent.  I,  myself,  took  an  active  part.  It  was 
very  gnerally  agreed  that  the  military  power  would 
have  to  be  used  m  some  shape  or  other,  and  that  this 
military  power  should  be  that  of  'North  Carolina, 
bcause  the  military  force  of  the  United  States  sent 
to  these  parts  had  accomplished  no  good. 

Gov.  Holden,  during  most  of  the  conference,  ex- 
cept those  portions  of  it  which  referred  to  the  bad 
condition  of  things  in  the  two  counties,  was  a  listener 
and  appeared  to  be  anxious  to  hear  suggestions.  I 
sat  near  him  during  the  entire  conference,  and  at 
every  suggestion  made  by  any  person  he  appealed  to 
me,  either  by  look,  gesture  or  word,  for  my  opinion 
in  regard  to  it. 

It  was  suggested  to  make  a  military  occupation  of 
the  two  counties,  and  to  arrest,  detain  and  try  such 
persons  as  were  suspected  of  complicity  in  the  out- 
rages said  to  have  taken  place  there,  by  the  military 
power.  This  suggestion  was  made  by  Mr.  John  Pool, 
in  the  first  instance.  I  answered  the  Governor,  who 
seemed  to  appeal  to  me  for  my  opinion  in  regard  to 


190  Appendix 

it,  that  the  military  occupation  and  arrest  were  right, 
and,  I  thought,  necessary,  but  the  trial  by  military 
court  was  too  dangerous  an  experiment  for  him  to  un- 
dertake; that  he  ought  to  send  in  conjunction  with 
the  military  a  judicial  officer  to  try  in  accordance 
with  our  forms  of  law  such  persons  as  the  military 
should  arrest.  It  was  said  by  Mr.  Pool  that  this 
would  not  accomplish  the  object,  and  he,  in  this  con- 
nection, called  to  the  Governor's  attention  what  Gov. 
Clayton,  of  Arkansas,  had  done  under  similar  circum- 
stances, which,  in  substance,  was,  according  to  his 
statement,  as  follows :  that  Gov.  Clayton,  having  the 
same  evils  to  contend  with,  had  embodied  his  militia, 
f  taken  military  possession  of  disaffected  counties,  and 
tried  and  executed  large  numbers  of  men  by  military 
courts,  and  in  that  way  had  broken  up  the  Ku  Klux 
in  Arkansas.  Upon  that  some  discussion  took  place 
between  Gov.  Holden  and  John  Pool  and  myself,  as 
to  what  its  effect  would  be  upon  Gov.  Holden  himself. 
I  insisted  that  all  the  consequences  of  a  failure  would 
have  to  be  borne  by  the  Governor,  and  Mr.  Pool 
insisted  that  Gov.  Clayton  had  made  a  success  of  it, 
and  there  was  no  reason  why  such  a  success  should 
not  result  here.  I  then  called  attention  to  the  differ- 
ence in  the  conditions  of  the  country  —  that  what 
Clayton  had  done  was  shortly  after  the  military  oc- 
cupation of  his  State  by  the  armies  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  what  was  borne  then  would  not  be 
borne  now.  I  was  referring  in  that  conversation 
mainly  to  trial  by  military  court. 

Mr.  Pool  and  I  then  had  a  conversation  in  regard 


Appendix  191 

to  tlie  same  matter  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
Governor's  office,  in  the  Capitol,  the  result  of  which 
was  that  he  agreed  to  the  proposition  originally  made 
by  me,  that  it  would  be  better  to  send  a  judicial 
officer  with  the  troops,  and  not,  until  that  proc"ess  had 
failed,  to  try  the  more  violent  remedy  of  military 
courts.  I  agreed  with  him  that  if  the  plan  I  had 
suggested  should  fail  to  discover  and  break  up  these 
organizations,  that  then  the  Governor  should  take 
the  more  violent  course. 

The  matter  then  of  the  difficulties  of  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  taking  the  arrested  men  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  military  officers,  was  discussed,  I  think 
nobody  being  a  party  to  this  conversation  except  the 
Governor,  Mr.  Pool  and  myself.  The  proposition, 
made  by  myself,  was  that  the  Governor  should  refuse 
to  obey  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  those  counties 
placed  in  a  state  of  insurrection.  Mr.  Pool  thought 
that  bad  policy,  and  that  it  would  not  work,  and 
thought  a  better  plan  would  be  to  answer  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus,  produce  the  bodies,  and  if  discharged 
to  arrest  upon  some  new  charge;  that  that  was  the 
plan  President  Grant  had  suggested. 

In  regard  to  the  organization  of  troops,  the  first 
difficulty  presented  and  discussed  was  the  fact  which 
was  very  generally  agreed  upon,  that  if  the  military 
was  called  out  it  would  have  to  be  white  or  colored,  in 
separate  organizations,  under  our  laws,  or  a  detailed 
militia,  as  provided  for  in  the  Act  of  1868.  It  was 
stated,  I  think  by  the  Governor,  that  he  had  tried 
the  white  detailed  militia  and  found  it  utterly  ineffi- 


192  Appendix 

cient;  that  the  class  of  men  who  would  submit  to 
detail  could  not  be  relied  on;  that  as  regarded  the 
white  militia,  we  all  agreed,  at  least  those  of  us  who 
took  part  in  this  discussion,  that  the  Governor  would 
be  embodying  a  militia  mainly  composed  of  ELu  Klux 
to  put  down  Ku  Klux;  that  as  regards  the  colored 
militia  it  was  inexpedient  and  impolitic  to  use  them, 
owing  to  the  prejudice  in  regard  to  race  and  color. 
It  was  then  suggested,  by  whom  I  do  not  recollect, 
that  it  would  be  best  to  organize  a  regular  force. 
This,  I  think,  was  concurred  in  by  all  who  joined  in 
that  conversation.  The  persons  present  were  grouped 
in  different  parts  of  the  room,  and  the  same  parties 
did  not  always  join  in  the  conversation,  nor  were 
they  in  position  to  hear  what  was  said.  At  this  time 
many  violent  propositions  were  made,  all  of  which 
.1  do  not  recollect,  the  question  under  discussion  being 
where  we  could  get  whjie  men  suitable  for  the  pur- 
pose in  view.  Mr.  Pool  stated,  at  that  time,  that 
there  was  a  man  in  his  county,  or  section  of  the  State, 
by  the  name  of  Mac  Lindsay,  and  he  mentioned  to 
me  that  I  knew  him,  as  he  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Senate  in  1864-65.  I  had  forgotten  him,  but  upon 
this  being  sail  I  recollected  him.  Mr.  Pool  said  he 
was  a  man  of  undoubted  courage  and  capable  of  any 
desperate  resolve,  and  by  way  of  illustrating  his 
capacity  mentioned  some  daring  aci  of_piracy,  of 
which  I  had  not  heard  before,  committed  by  the  said 
Mac  Lindsay,  either  during  the  war  or  just  after  its 
close,  in  the  waters  of  eastern  j^orth  Carolina,  and 
that  he,  the  said  Mac  Lindsay,  had  been  indicted 


Appendix  193 

therefor  and  only  saved  from  punishment  by  his 
(Pool's)  influence;  that  he  would  guarantee  that 
this  man,  Mac  Lindsay,  would  pick  up  from  the 
county  where  he  lived,  and  which  was  between  the 
lines  during  the  war,  sixty  or  one  hundred  men 
equally  as  daring  and  brave  as  himself;  that  this 
man,  Mac  Lindsay,  would  give  the  Governor  no 
trouble  —  that  if  these  men,  arrested  by  him,  under- 
took any  resistance  he  would  kill  them,  or  they  would 
be  lost  and  never  heard  of  again.  I  do  not  undertake 
to  state  his  exact  words,  but  this  was  the  substance 
of  his  conversation.  The  Governor  at  this  time  was 
sitting  in  his  chair.  He  got  up  and  walked  nervously 
up  and  down  the  room  for  a  few  minutes  before  any- 
thing was  said.  I  got  up  from  the  seat  I  occupied 
on  the  sofa,  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  room,  and 
stated  to  the  Governor,  and  it  may  have  been  in  the 
presence  of  some  others  of  the  company,  that  such  a 
proposition  was  infamous,  and  that  if  it  resulted  as 
suggested  the  Governor  would  be  damned  in  the) 
memories  of  men  for  all  time.  Mr.  Pool  then  said  I 
had  misunderstood  his  meaning,  that  he  did  not 
intend  that  result,  he  wanted  to  illustrate  the  deter- 
mined character  of  Mac  Lindsay,  and  he  may  have 
qualified  it  in  a  good  many  other  ways.  He  stated 
in  this  connection  that  Clayton's  troops  gave  no 
trouble.  At  this  time  some  other  man  who  was  pres- 
ent, I  do  not  recollect  distinctly  who  it  was,  said  that 
he  could  furnish  sixty  or  one  hundred  men  of  the 
same  description  from  his  county,  and  mentioned 
some  wonderful  exploits  they  had  performed  during 


194  Appexdix 

the  war.  All  of  these  propositions  and  suggestions 
with  regard  to  using  such  violent  material  were  ob- 
jected to  by  Gov.  Holden. 

At  some  time  during  this  conversation,  and  when 
the  propriety  of  using  military  measures  was  under 
discussion,  and  when  Gov.  Holden  was,  as  I  under- 
stood it,  objecting  to  the  means  proposed,  and  seemed 
indisposed  to  undertake  the  movement,  Mr.  Pool 
said,  in  substance  about  this :  "  Governor,  you  do  not 
know  how  they  are  talking  about  you  in  Washington. 
.The  Republicans  there  say  you  are  a  failure,  and 
Grant  says  you  and  Smith  of  Alabama  were  made 
Governors  of  States  by  the  Republican  party  under 
the  reconstruction  acts,  and  that  you  are  sitting  still 
and  permitting  these  Ku  Klux  to  take  them  away 
from  you,  or  cause  them  to  slip  away  from  you.'O 

There  was  a  meeting  next  day  at  which  only  the 
Governor,  John  Pool  and  myself  were  present.  Some- 
body suggested  the  appointment  of  Col.  .Clarke,  who 
was  in  the  city.  Col.  Clarke  was  sent  for,  and  after 
persuasion,  agreed  to  accept  the  command.  I  con- 
curred. 

Question.  Who  invited  you  to  the  conference  in 
the  Executive  office  ? 

Answer.     I  was  invited  by  the  Governor. 

Question.  iState,  as  near  as  you  can,  the  relative 
positions  of  the  Governor,  John  Pool  and  yourself, 
and  any  other  persons  you  can  recollect. 

Answer.  Just  previous  to  the  time  when  Mr.  Pool 
recommended  his  military  plan,  he  had  been  stand- 
ing, conversing  with  somebody,  at  the  southeast  win- 


Appendix  195 

dow.  The  Governor  was  either  in  his  chair  or  walk- 
ing lip  and  down  the  room  between  where  his  chair 
sat  and  the  sub  division  between  the  southern  win- 
dows, and  I  was  sitting  on  the  sofa  near  the  south- 
western window,  or  near  the  Governor's  chair. 

Question.     What  was  Mr.  Pool's  manner  ? 

Answer.  My  impression  from  his  manner  was 
that  Mr.  Pool  meant  what  he  said  until  his  proposi- 
tion met  with  disfavor ;  and  then  he  varied  his  man- 
ner so  as  to  induce  the  belief  that  he  was  jesting. 

Question.  Please  state  what  was  jour  inference, 
from  the  language  of  Mr.  Pool,  before  his  plan  met 
with  disfavor,  of  the  character  and  antecedents  of 
Lindsay. 

Answer.  I  thought  Lindsay  a  determined  villain, 
capable  of  taking  life  at  the  instance  of  a  superior 
without  question.  I  drew  the  inference  from  Mr. 
Pool's  statement,  and  that  was  my  reason  for  de- 
nouncing it  as  infamous. 

Question.  Did  Mr.  Pool  suggest  the  arrest  of  any 
parties,  by  name,  or  did  he  suggest  the  arrest  of 
prominent  gentlemen  of  the  Conservative  party  in 
the  State? 

Answer.  I  cannot  say,  from  my  own  recollection, 
with  absolute  certainty,  that  he  did,  and  I  am  disin- 
clined to  the  belief  that  he  did.  I  have  some  indis- 
tinct idea  of  something  of  the  kind,  but  I  think  it 
must  have  come  from  the  newspapers,  which  I  con- 
stantly read. 

Question.  Have  you  ever  heard,  until  Mr.  Pool 
made  the  statement,  of  the  particulars  as  to  which 


196  Appendix 

Mr.  Pool  said  Gov.  Clayton  had  performed  in  Ar- 
kansas ? 

Answer.  I  had  not.  I  had  a  confused  notion 
from  the  telegraphic  accounts  of  the  newspapers,  to 
which  I  paid  little  attention,  such  things  being  com- 
mon, that  Gov.  Clayton  was  undertaking  a  military 
movement  against  certain  portions  of  Arkansas. 

Question.  Did  you  understand  Mr.  Pool  to  ap- 
prove and  recommend  to  Gov.  Holden  the  conduct  of 
Gov.  Clayton? 

Answer.  I  did.  My  understanding  was  that 
when  he  related  what  Gov.  iClayton  had  done  he  in- 
tended that  it  should  be  followed  by  Gov.  Holden. 

Question.  Did  Mr.  Pool,  in  that  conversation, 
give  Gen.  Grant's  opinion  of  Clayton? 

Answer.  I  am  not  certain  that  he  did,  but  he  did 
use  Grant's  name  in  connection  with  Gov.  Holden 
and  Gov.  Smith  of  Alabama. 

Question.  Have  you  had  any  conversation  or  com- 
munication w^ith  the  other  parties  who  were  present, 
who  corroborate  your  statements  ?  If  so,  who  are  the 
parties  ? 

Answer.  I  have  conversed  with  Col.  W.  J.  Clarke 
in  regard  to  this  matter,  and  he  said,  though  he  had 
no  distinct  recollection  of  the  specific  conversation, 
he  did  recollect  that  many  violent  propositions  were 
made,  but  none  adopted.  J.  H.  Harris  told  me,  in 
front  of  the  Court  House  in  this  city,  in  the  fall  of 
1870,  that  in  that  meeting  Mr.  John  Pool  made  some 
propositions,  of  which  his  recollection  was  not  dis- 
tinct, of  a  very  violent  character,  and  said  something 


Appendix  197 

about  "losing  men/'  or  that  "he  had  a  man  who 
would  lose  them."  I  have  had  a  conversation  with 
D.  A.  Jenkins  who  denies  being  present  at  the  time ; 
also  with  I.  J.  Young,  who  agrees  substantially  with 
the  facts  as  I  have  stated  them,  and  with  Gov.  Hol- 
den,  who  also  agrees  with  the  facts  as  I  have  stated 
them. 

Question.  When  Senator  Pool  spoke  of  resistance, 
did  you  understand  it  as  relating  solely  to  instances 
of  that  kind,  or  rather  that  he  would  dispose  of  men 
in  such  a  way  as  to  relieve  Gov.  Holden  of  the  odium 
and  responsibility  of  such  things  ? 

Answer.  I  thought  both  from  the  first  suggestion 
— that  he,  Lindsay,  would  do  it  in  either  case,  and 
render  courts  martial  unnecessary.  He  afterwards 
qualified  it,  but  not  until  it  had  met  with  the  disap- 
proval of  nearly  every  person  present  in  that  part  of 
the  room.  He  then  qualified  it  as  I  have  stated  it,  in 
my  examination-in-chief. 

Question.  Did  you  infer  from  the  conduct  of  the 
Governor,  when  the  proposition  was  made  by  Pool, 
as  stated,  that  his  impression  was  the  same  as  yours  ? 

Answer.  I  so  inferred ;  and  further,  that  he  dis- 
approved of  it. 

Question.  What  is  your  best  impression  as  to  who 
the  man  was  who,  after  Pool  had  spoken  of  Lindsay, 
said  he  could  furnish  sixty  or  one  hundred  men  of 
like  calibre,  and  what  were  their  remarkable  exploits  ? 

Answer.  My  best  impression  is  that  D.  A.  Jen- 
kins, the  Treasurer,  made  the  suggestion,  and  made 
it  in  an  excited  manner.     Indeed,  I  know  that  Jen- 


198  Appendix 

kins  made  the  remark^  and  I  am  in  doubt  only  as  to 
time,  as  he  might  have  made  it  on  some  subsequent 
occasion  or  meeting  in  the  Executive  office  at  which 
the  matter  was  alluded  to.  I  have  forgotten  what 
the  exploits  were,  but  a  great  deal  of  gasconade  was 
indulged  in  in  the  way  of  description. 

Question.  In  any  of  the  conversations  between 
Pool,  Holden  and  yourself  was  any  reference  made 
to  the  effect  on  the  coming  election  ? 

Answer.  That  was  not  the  subject  of  conversation. 
It  related  to  the  outrages,  though  the  election  may 
have  been  alluded  to  incidentally,  and  I  think  it  was 
in  connection  with  the  matter.  It  was  suggested  that 
unless  the  outrages  were  suppressed  there  could  be 
no  fair  election  in  those  portions  of  !N'orth  Carolina 
where  the  Ku  Klux  were  operating;  and  I  think 
prompt  action,  by  whom  I  don't  recollect,  was  urged 
on  that  account. 

Question.  How  many,  in  all,  do  you  think  were 
present  in  the  first  meeting? 

Answer.     Thirteen. 

Question.  Did  they  constitute  the  ordinary  and 
legal  counsel  of  the  Governor  ? 

Answer.  'No,  and  were  not  so  understood  to  be, 
but  a  meeting  of  leading  Republicans. 

Question.  When  did  the  conversation  between 
yourself  and  James  H.  Harris  occur,  and  where  ? 

Answer.  Before  the  meeting  of  the  Legislature, 
some  time  last  fall,  and  in  front  of  the  Court  House, 
in  this  city. 


Appendix  199 

Question,  What  are  your  present  party  affilia- 
tions ? 

Answer,  Republican  of  the  straightest  sect.  My 
theory  is  a  government  of  the  strongest  kind  —  a  cen- 
tralized government. 

Question.  Were  you  of  counsel  for  Gov.  Holden 
in  the  late  impeachment  trial  ? 

Answer.     I  was. 


